This project will fabricate a vertical cavity surface-emitting LED/laser by implanting Er into porous silicon (produced from poly-porous silicon on glass). Spire was the first to demonstrate: (a) porous polysilicon with quantum-confined properties and (b) strong, room-temperature IR emission from Er-doped porous Si. Their results clearly indicate that optical emission efficiency of Er in porous silicon at room temperature is comparable to In0.53Ga0.47As material, used for commercial infrared LEDs. Strong temperature dependence of IR intensity for Er-implanted bulk Si is a major obstacle preventing the application of Si:Er in optoelectronics. Results show about a 50% decrease in IR intensity for porous Si when the temperature is raised from 77K to room temperature, as compared to a decrease of a factor of 1000 for Er in bulk Si. In Phase I, they will deposit a transparent conductor (such as ITO) onto a glass substrate, followed by polysilicon. After processing to fabricate porous polysilicon with quantum-confined properties, samples will be implanted with erbium and annealed to recrystallize the silicon nanostructures. Finally, they will deposit a thin metal film mirror/contact, to complete a porous polycrystalline silicon-based infrared Schottky LED. Phase II will concentrate on optimization and commercialization of the devices, and on formation of optical cavities to produce IR lasers.