Tunable photoluminescence of self-assembled GeSi quantum dots by B+ implantation and rapid thermal annealing

The layered GeSi quantum dots (QDs) are grown on (001) Si substrate by molecular beam epitaxy. The photoluminescence (PL) peak of the as-grown GeSi quantum dots has obvious blue shift and enhancement after processed by ion implantation and rapid thermal annealing. It is indicated that the blue shift is originated from the interdiffusion of Ge and Si at the interface between QDs and the surrounding matrix. The dependence of PL intensity on the excitation power shows that there are the nonradiative centers of shallow local energy levels from the point defects caused by the ion implantation, but not removed by the rapid thermal annealing. The tunable blue shift of the PL position from the 1300 nm to 1500 nm region may have significant application value in the optical communication. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.