Radiation emission from wrinkled SiGe/SiGe nanostructure

Semiconductor optical emitters radiate light via band-to-band optical transitions. Here, a different mechanism of radiation emission, which is not related to the energy band of the materials, is proposed. In the case of carriers traveling along a sinusoidal trajectory through a wrinkled nanostructure, radiation was emitted via changes in their velocity in a manner analogous to synchrotron radiation. The radiated frequency of wrinkled SiGe/SiGe nanostructure was found to cover a wide spectrum with radiation power levels of the order of submilliwatts. Thus, this nanostructure can be used as a Si-based optical emitter and it will enable the integration of optoelectronic devices on a wafer.