The absorption of light in the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum by Au-hyperdoped Si has been observed. While silicon photodetectors in this range are currently being produced, their efficiency is low. Here, using the nanosecond and picosecond laser hyperdoping of thin amorphous Si films, their compositional (energy-dispersion X-ray spectroscopy), chemical (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy), structural (Raman spectroscopy) and IR spectroscopic characterization, we comparatively demonstrated a few promising regimes of laser-based silicon hyperdoping with gold. Our results indicate that the optimal efficiency of impurity-hyperdoped Si materials has yet to be achieved, and we discuss these opportunities in light of our results.
Keywords: IR spectroscopy; Raman microspectroscopy; X-ray photoelectron microspectroscopy; amorphous Si film; energy-dispersive X-ray microspectroscopy; gold impurity; laser hyperdoping.