title: Ultraviolet light emission from si in a scanning tunneling microscope.
abstract: Ultraviolet and visible radiation is observed from the contacts of a scanning tunneling microscope with Si(100) and (111) wafers. This luminescence relies on the presence of hot electrons in silicon, which are supplied, at positive bias on n- and p-type samples, through the injection from the tip, or, at negative bias on p samples, by Zener tunneling. Measured spectra reveal a contribution of direct optical transitions in Si bulk. The necessary holes well below the valence band edge are injected from the tip or generated by Auger processes.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Experimentelle und Angewandte Physik, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, D-24098 Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Berndt
authors.forename: Mikhail I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Vexler