Growth of epitaxial SrS:Eu,Sm films by pulsed laser deposition

High quality epitaxial SrS:Eu,Sm thin films have been deposited on (111) and (001) BaF2, (001) Gd3Ga5O12, and (001) MgO oriented substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) in vacuum and H2S partial pressures. Structural evaluation of the SrS films showed them to be highly oriented along the (001) direction when deposited on (001) BaF2 or (001) MgO substrates, with a rocking angle full width half-maximum (FWHM) of about 0.5° for the SrS (002) peak on both substrates. The φ scans of the (111) SrS peak of these films indicated a high degree of in-plane epitaxy as well, with no signs of high angle grain boundaries. For the films grown on MgO substrates, the infrared stimulated luminescence was measured as a function of deposition temperature and found to depend on the film’s degree of crystallinity. These results indicate that PLD is a viable technique for the growth of highly epitaxial photoluminescent SrS:Eu,Sm thin films.