Prominent luminescence of silicon-vacancy defects created in bulk silicon carbide p-n junction diodes.

We investigate fluorescent defect centers in 4H silicon carbide p-n junction diodes fabricated via aluminum-ion implantation into an n-type bulk substrate without the use of an epitaxial growth process. At room temperature, electron-irradiated p-n junction diodes exhibit electroluminescence originating from silicon-vacancy defects. For a diode exposed to an electron dose of [Formula: see text] at [Formula: see text], the electroluminescence intensity of these defects is most prominent within a wavelength range of 400-[Formula: see text]. The commonly observed [Formula: see text] emission was sufficiently suppressed in the electroluminescence spectra of all the fabricated diodes, while it was detected in the photoluminescence measurements. The photoluminescence spectra also displayed emission lines from silicon-vacancy defects.