1.54μm Emission of pulsed-laser deposited Er-doped films on Si

We investigate the photoluminescence properties of Er-doped SiO2 and glass films fabricated by pulsed-laser deposition (PLD) for different deposition parameters and erbium host materials. The luminescence yield of SiO2 : Er films increases strongly with increasing oxygen background pressure during laser ablation. We compare SiO2 and soda-lime glass as host materials for erbium ions. Under identical growth conditions and the same erbium concentrations in both targets, films deposited from the soda-lime glass show a much higher luminescence yield. This enhancement is attributed to a higher concentration of optically active erbium in the multicomponent glass environment.