Defect-mediated and resonant optical excitation of Er3+ ions in silicon-rich silicon oxide

Sensitization of the 4I13/2–4I15/2 Er3+ luminescence at 1.54 μm in silicon-rich silicon oxide (SRSO) is studied in the blue-green range. We show that defects due to excess Si in silica act as luminescence sensitizers. We also suggest that there exist two types of Er centers—isolated ones and others—strongly coupled to defects. In SRSO competition of direct, resonant excitation of Er3+ and indirect processes via defects is observed. Enhancement of the Er emission for off-resonant excitation does not seem to compensate losses in the direct channel of excitation to the 2H11/2 state of Er3+. We suggest that the emission efficiency of Er3+ is limited by distance-dependent transfer rate and little spectral overlap of the interacting states.