Optical properties of a single type of optically active center in Si/Si:Er nanostructures -: art. no. 115332

We present the results of high-resolution photoluminescence and magneto-optical spectroscopy of selectively doped Si/Si:Er nanolayer structures grown by sublimation molecular beam epitaxy method. We show that the annealing of such samples results in a preferential formation of a single type of optically active Er-related center. Detailed information on the microscopic structure of this center has been revealed from the investigation of the Zeeman effect. Its symmetry is found to be orthorhombic I (C-2v) and several g-tensors of the ground and excited states are determined. The consequences of current findings for the microscopic model of the Er-related center preferentially generated in Si/Si:Er nanolayers are discussed.