Abstract:
Amorphous erbium-doped silicon oxide SiyO1−y :Er, y1/3 thin films are currently under
investigation as a luminescent material system for complementary metal-oxide semiconductor
compatible light emitters. We have grown films with y1/3 and investigated their properties using
both positron annihilation and photoluminescence PL spectroscopies. Films were characterized “as
deposited,” following irradiation with 1 MeV Si+ ions and after isochronal annealing. The PL yield
from both Er3+ ions and sensitizing defects is reduced by irradiation, depending strongly on the
irradiation fluence and reaching saturation at 41013 Si+ /cm2
. Higher implantation fluences
result in an open-volume defect structure in the film that persists after annealing. This annealing
behavior is similar to that of an unrecoverable quenching effect on Er3+-related PL near 1540 nm,
and we suggest that these open-volume defects may cause a decoupling of the Er3+ ions from
sensitizing oxide point defects that form as a result of the film deposition process.
