Optimal composition of europium gallium oxide thin films for device applications

Journal Article · Sat May 15 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · Journal of Applied Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3319670· OSTI ID:21476234

Wellenius, P; Muth, J F ^[1]; Smith, E R ^[2]; LeBoeuf, S M ^[3]; Everitt, H O ^[4]

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1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695 (United States)
2. Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, Inc., 5030 Bradford Drive, Huntsville, Alabama 35805 (United States)
3. Valencell, Inc., 920 Main Campus Drive, Raleigh, North Carolina 27615 (United States)
4. Army Aviation and Missile RD and E Center, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama 35898 (United States) and Department of Physics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708 (United States)

Europium gallium oxide (Eu{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}){sub 2}O{sub 3} thin films were deposited on sapphire substrates by pulsed laser deposition with varying Eu content from x=2.4 to 20 mol %. The optical and physical effects of high europium concentration on these thin films were studied using photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD), and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. PL spectra demonstrate that emission due to the {sup 5}D{sub 0} to {sup 7}F{sub J} transitions in Eu{sup 3+} grows linearly with Eu content up to 10 mol %. Time-resolved PL indicates decay parameters remain similar for films with up to 10 mol % Eu. At 20 mol %, however, PL intensity decreases substantially and PL decay accelerates, indicative of parasitic energy transfer processes. XRD shows films to be polycrystalline and beta-phase for low Eu compositions. Increasing Eu content beyond 5 mol % does not continue to modify the film structure and thus, changes in PL spectra and decay cannot be attributed to structural changes in the host. These data indicate the optimal doping for optoelectronic devices based on (Eu{sub x}Ga{sub 1-x}){sub 2}O{sub 3} thin films is between 5 and 10 mol %.

• OSTI ID: 21476234
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 107, Issue 10; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3319670; (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0021-8979
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
CONCENTRATION RATIO
EMISSION SPECTROSCOPY
ENERGY BEAM DEPOSITION
ENERGY TRANSFER
EUROPIUM COMPOUNDS
EUROPIUM IONS
GALLIUM OXIDES
LASER RADIATION
PHOTOLUMINESCENCE
POLYCRYSTALS
PULSED IRRADIATION
RUTHERFORD BACKSCATTERING SPECTROSCOPY
SAPPHIRE
SUBSTRATES
THIN FILMS
TIME RESOLUTION
X-RAY DIFFRACTION
CHALCOGENIDES
CHARGED PARTICLES
COHERENT SCATTERING
CORUNDUM
CRYSTALS
DEPOSITION
DIFFRACTION
DIMENSIONLESS NUMBERS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
EMISSION
FILMS
GALLIUM COMPOUNDS
IONS
IRRADIATION
LUMINESCENCE
MINERALS
OXIDE MINERALS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHOTON EMISSION
RADIATIONS
RARE EARTH COMPOUNDS
RESOLUTION
SCATTERING
SPECTROSCOPY
SURFACE COATING
TIMING PROPERTIES