A Si p-π-n diode with β-FeSi 2 particles embedded in the unintentionally doped Si (p--type) was designed for determining the band offset at β-FeSi 2-Si heterojunction.When the diode is under forward bias,the electrons injected via the Si n-p- junction diffuse to and are confined in the β-FeSi 2 particles due to the band offset.The storage charge at the β-FeSi 2-Si heterojunction inversely hamper the further diffusion of electrons,giving rise to the localization of electrons in the p--Si near the Si junction,which prevents them from nonradiative recombination channels.This results in electroluminescence (EL) intensity from both Si and β-FeSi 2 quenching slowly up to room temperature.The temperature dependent ratio of EL intensity of β-FeSi 2 to Si indicates the loss of electron confinement following thermal excitation model.The conduction band offset between Si and β-FeSi 2 is determined to be about 0 2eV.
