Visible emission from N-rich turbostratic boron nitride thin films doped with Eu, Tb, and Tm

Red, green, and blue light emissions have been obtained at 80 and 300 K by cathodoluminescence (CL) from N-rich turbostratic BN thin films doped with Eu, Tb, and Tm, respectively. The films were grown by rf magnetron sputtering in an atmosphere of Ar and NH3 gas mixture using EuB6, TbB6, and TmB12 targets, respectively. Infrared absorption measurements, transmission electron microscopy, and electron probe microanalysis show that the matrix of the films is N-rich turbostratic BN. The sharp characteristic emission lines corresponding to Eu3+, Tb3+, and Tm3+ intra-4fn shell transitions are resolved in the CL spectral range from 350 to 800 nm at 80 and 300 K.