Intense photoluminescence from erbium-doped tantalum oxide thin films deposited by sputtering

Abstract

Erbium-doped tantalum oxide films were prepared by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. Visible light emission was observed from the films after annealing. We obtained PL peaks at 550 and 670nm. The effects of erbium concentration, annealing temperature, and annealing time on the light-emitting properties of the films are discussed. The strongest intensities of the 550 and 670nm peaks were observed from the samples with 0.96 and 0.63mol% erbium concentrations after annealing at 900◦C for 20min, respectively.