Integration of $\text{Er}^{3+}$-emitters in silicon-on-insulator nanodisks metasurface

Abstract

Erbium ($\text{Er}^{3+}$) emitters are relevant for optical applications due to their narrow emission line directly in the telecom C-band due to the ${}^\text{4}\text{I}_{\text{13/2}}$ $\rightarrow$ ${}^\text{4}\text{I}_{\text{15/2}}$ transition at 1.54 $\mu$m. Additionally they are promising candidates for future quantum technologies when embedded in thin-film silicon-on-insulator (SOI) to achieve fabrication scalability and CMOS compatibility. In this paper we integrate $\text{Er}^{3+}$ emitters in SOI metasurfaces made of closely spaced array of nanodisks, to study their spontaneous emission via room and cryogenic temperature confocal microscopy, off-resonance and in-resonance photoluminescence excitation at room temperature and time resolved spectroscopy. This work demonstrates the possibility to adopt CMOS-compatible and fabrication scalable metasurfaces for controlling and improving the collection efficiency of the spontaneous emission from the $\text{Er}^{3+}$ transition in SOI and could be adopted in similar technologically advanced materials.