Luminescence from Si nanocrystals and Er3+ ions embedded in resonant cavities

Narrow, intense and directional emission have been observed in silicon nanocrystals (ne) and Er-doped Si nc embedded within Si/SiO2 Fabry-Perot microcavities. A very large wavelength range can be obtained varying the cavity resonance. The first evidence of sharp emission from Si ne (full width at half maximum of 1.5 nm) with a quality factor Q of 500 is reported. A high directionality emission from Er-doped Si nc within a microcavity and a luminescence intensity 3 orders of magnitude above that of Er-doped SiO2 makes this system a strong candidate for optical fibers applications.