Photoluminescence performance of pulsed-laser deposited Al2O3 thin films with large erbium concentrations

Erbium doped Al2O3 films with concentrations up to 6×1020 Er cm−3 have been prepared in a single step process by pulsed-laser deposition. Alternate ablation of Al2O3 and Er targets has been used to control the in-depth distribution and in-plane concentration of Er3+ ions independently. The characteristic Er3+ photoluminescence response at 1.53 μm has been studied as a function of the Er3+ distribution. It is found that lifetime values can be greatly increased by increasing the Er3+–Er3+ in-depth separation above 3 nm. This result can be related to a reduced Er3+–Er3+ energy migration process. The in-plane Er3+ concentration was increased by either increasing the number of pulses on the Er target or the laser energy density for ablation. By the latter method in-plane concentrations as high as 1.1×1014 Er cm−2 per layer (corresponding to 2×1020 Er cm−3) were achieved, while keeping lifetime values as high as 6 ms. This result is explained in terms of shallow Er3+ implantation during deposition.