skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Controlled erbium incorporation and photoluminescence of Er-doped Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}

Journal Article · · Applied Physics Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1984082· OSTI ID:20702559
;  [1]
  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095 (United States)

A high concentration of erbium doping was achieved in Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} thin films on Si (100) by depositing Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} alternatively with Er{sub 2}O{sub 3} using radical-enhanced atomic layer deposition (ALD). Specifically, the erbium doping level was controlled by varying the ratio of Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Er{sub 2}O{sub 3} cycles during deposition, and a 10:5 ratio yielded {approx}9 at. % erbium incorporation in Y{sub 2}O{sub 3}, confirmed by the compositional analysis using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Room-temperature photoluminescence was observed in a 320-A Er-doped (9 at. %) Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} film deposited at 350 deg. C. This result is very promising, since the film was fairly thin and no annealing at high temperature was needed to activate the erbium ions. This suggests that radical-enhanced ALD was able to preserve the optically active trivalent state of the erbium ion from its precursor state. The effective absorption cross section for Er{sup 3+} ions incorporated in Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} was estimated to be on the order of 10{sup -18} cm{sup 2}, about three orders of magnitude larger than the direct optical absorption cross section reported for Er{sup 3+} ions in a stoichiometric SiO{sub 2} host. These results validate Y{sub 2}O{sub 3} as a promising Er{sup 3+} host material and demonstrate that radical-enhanced ALD is a viable technique for synthesizing these materials.

OSTI ID:
20702559
Journal Information:
Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 87, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.1984082; (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English