title: Platinum assisted vapor-liquid-solid growth of er-si nanowires and their optical properties.
abstract: We report the optical activation of erbium coated silicon nanowires (Er-SiNWs) grown with the assist of platinum (Pt) and gold (Au), respectively. The NWs were grown on Si substrates by using a chemical vapor transport process using SiCl4 and ErCl4 as precursors. Pt as well as Au worked successfully as vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) catalysts for growing SiNWs with diameters of ~100 nm and length of several micrometers, respectively. The SiNWs have core-shell structures where the Er-crystalline layer is sandwiched between silica layers. Photoluminescence spectra analyses showed the optical activity of SiNWs from both Pt and Au. A stronger Er3+ luminescence of 1,534 nm was observed from the SiNWs with Pt at room- and low-temperature (25 K) using the 488- and/or 477-nm line of an Ar laser that may be due to the uniform incorporation of more Er ions into NWs with the exclusion of the formation of catalyst-induced deep levels in the band-gap. Pt would be used as a VLS catalyst for high performance optically active Er-SiNWs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, 120-749, Korea. hjc@yonsei.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Myoung-Ha
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Il-Soo
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Yong-Hee
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Tae-Eon
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Jung H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Heon-Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Choi