1.54 μm room-temperature luminescence of MeV erbium-implanted silica glass

Abstract

MeV erbium implantation doping of 10-μm-thick silica glass films on a Si substrate is studied with the aim of incorporating the rare-earth dopant on an optically active site in the silica network. As-implanted samples (3.5 MeV, 5×1015 Er ions/cm2) show a strong luminescent transition at a wavelength of 1.54 μm, even at room temperature, corresponding to an intra-4f transition of Er3+. Thermal annealing at temperatures up to 900 °C increases the luminescence intensity by a factor of 2 to 3. For temperatures above 1000 °C the intensity decreases drastically as a result of Er precipitation. The lifetime of the excited state is in the order of 10 ms. Photoluminescence studies at 4.2 K are used to identify implantation-induced damage.