Optical properties of erbium-implanted porous silicon microcavities

We have used ion implantation for erbium doping of mesoporous silicon microcavities. Optically active erbium-doped microcavities with Q factors in excess of 1500 have been demonstrated. We observed strong modification of the emission properties of the erbium in the microcavity with an accompanying cavity enhancement factor of 25. In addition, power- and temperature-dependent photoluminescence measurements indicate that erbium-implanted porous silicon has excitation mechanism very similar to that of erbium in a crystalline silicon host. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.