Room‐Temperature Infrared Photoresponse from Ion Beam–Hyperdoped Silicon

Abstract

Room‐temperature broadband infrared photoresponse in Si is of great interest for the development of on‐chip complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS)‐compatible photonic platforms. One effective approach to extend the room‐temperature photoresponse of Si to the mid‐infrared range is the so‐called hyperdoping. This consists of introducing deep‐level impurities into Si to form an intermediate band within its bandgap enabling a strong intermediate band–mediated infrared photoresponse. Typically, impurity concentrations in excess of the equilibrium solubility limit can be introduced into the Si host either by pulsed laser melting of Si with a gas‐phase impurity precursor, by pulsed laser mixing of a thin‐film layer of impurities atop the Si surface, or by ion implantation followed by a subsecond annealing step. In this review, a conspectus of the current status of room‐temperature infrared photoresponse in hyperdoped Si by ion implantation followed by nanosecond‐pulsed laser annealing is provided. The possibilities of achieving room‐temperature broadband infrared photoresponse in ion beam–hyperdoped Si with different deep‐level impurities are discussed in terms of material fabrication and device performance. The thermal stability of hyperdoped Si with deep‐level impurities is addressed with special emphasis on the structural and the optoelectronic material properties. The future perspectives on achieving room‐temperature Si‐based broadband infrared photodetectors are outlined.

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