Indirect excitation of Er3+ ions in silicon nitride films prepared by reactive evaporation

Abstract

Er-doped silicon nitride films were obtained by reactive evaporation of silicon under a flow of nitrogen ions and were annealed at temperatures up to 1300 °C. Samples were studied by infrared absorption and Raman spectrometries and by transmission electron microscopy. The 1.54 μm Er-related photoluminescence (PL) was studied in relation with the structure with pump excitation at 488 and 325 nm. Steady-state PL, PL excitation spectroscopy, and time-resolved PL were performed. The results demonstrate that Er3+ ions are indirectly excited both via silicon nanocrystals and via localized states in the silicon nitride matrix.