Processing and Characterization of High-Density Fe-Silicide/Si Core–Shell Quantum Dots for Light Emission

Si-based photonics has garnered considerable attention as a future device for complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) computing. However, few studies have investigated Si-based light sources highly compatible with Si ultra large-scale integration processing. In this study, we observed stable light emission at room temperature from superatom-like β–FeSi 2 –core/Si–shell quantum dots (QDs). The β–FeSi 2 –core/Si–shell QDs, with an areal density as high as ~10 11 cm −2 were fabricated by self-aligned silicide process of Fe–silicide capped Si–QDs on ~3.0 nm SiO 2 /n–Si (100) substrates, followed by SiH 4 exposure at 400 °C. From the room temperature photoluminescence characteristics, β–FeSi 2 core/Si–shell QDs can be regarded as active elements in optical applications because they offer the advantages of photonic signal processing capabilities and can be combined with electronic logic control and data storage.