Photoluminescence response of ion-implanted silicon

The photoluminescence intensity from ion-implanted silicon can be quenched by the radiation damage implicit in the implantation. Annealing is then required before the intensity of the luminescence from a defect center is approximately proportional to the concentration of that center. Data from positron annihilation and photoluminescence experiments establish that severe quenching of the luminescence occurs when the mean separation of the small vacancy clusters is less than ∼30 atomic spacings, and the authors map out where, in the annealing and implantation phase space, the luminescence intensity is expected to be approximately proportional to the concentration of the optical centers.