Room temperature all-silicon photonic crystal nanocavity light emitting diode at sub-bandgap wavelengths

Silicon is now firmly established as a high performance photonic material. Its only weakness is the lack of a native electrically driven light emitter that operates CW at room temperature, exhibits a narrow linewidth in the technologically important 1300–1600 nm wavelength window, is small and operates with low power consumption. Here, an electrically pumped all‐silicon nano light source around 1300–1600 nm range is demonstrated at room temperature. Using hydrogen plasma treatment, nano‐scale optically active defects are introduced into silicon, which then feed the photonic crystal nanocavity to enhance the electrically driven emission in a device via Purcell effect. A narrow (Δλ=0.5 nm) emission line at 1515 nm wavelength with a power density of 0.4mW/cm2 is observed, which represents the highest spectral power density ever reported from any silicon emitter. A number of possible improvements are also discussed, that make this scheme a very promising light source for optical interconnects and other important silicon photonics applications. Silicon is now firmly established as a high performance photonic material. Its only weakness is the lack of a native electrically driven light emitter that operates CW at room temperature, exhibits a narrow linewidth in the technologically important 1300–1600 nm wavelength window, is small and operates with low power consumption. Here, an electrically pumped all‐silicon nano light source around 1300–1600 nm range is demonstrated at room temperature. Using hydrogen plasma treatment, nano‐scale optically active defects are introduced into silicon, which then feed the photonic crystal nanocavity to enhance the electrically driven emission in a device via Purcell effect. A narrow (Δλ = 0.5 nm) emission line at 1515 nm wavelength with a power density of 0.4 mW/cm2 is observed, which represents the highest spectral power density ever reported from any silicon emitter. A number of possible improvements are also discussed, that make this scheme a very promising light source for optical interconnects and other important silicon photonics applications.