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We demonstrate the effect of air exposure on optical and electrical properties of ZnMgO nanoparticles (NPs) typically exploited as an electron transport layer in Cd-based quantum-dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs). We analyze the roles of air components in modifying the electrical properties of ZnMgO NPs, which reveals that H2O enables the reduction of hole leakage while O2 alters the character of charge transport due to its ability to trap electrons. As a result, the charge balance in the QDs layer is improved, which is confirmed by voltage-dependent measurements of photoluminescence quantum yield. The maximum external quantum efficiency is improved over 2-fold and reaches the value of 9.5% at a luminance of 104 cd/m2. In addition, we investigate the problem of electron leakage into the hole transport layer and show that trap-mediated electron transport in the ZnMgO layer caused by adsorbed O2 ensures a higher leakage threshold. This work also provides an insight into the possible disadvantages of device contact with air as well as problems and challenges that might occur during open-air fabrication of QLEDs.

In this study, the role of a zinc acetate precursor in improving the luminescence stability of purple-emitting CdS nanocrystals is investigated. The oleate-capped core of CdS nanocrystals exhibits intense photodarkening under prolonged UV excitation. From the results of photoluminescence experiments, we can observe that photobleaching is responsible for the degradation of temporal stability, i.e., decline in photoluminescence intensity. Herein, we demonstrate that by adding zinc acetate to the synthesis solution, one can enhance the photoluminescence stability by the complete suppression of the bleaching processes of nanocrystals. We can distinguish between the effects caused by zinc ions and those caused by acetate ligands. Acetate ligands improve the photoluminescence stability of the core of CdS nanocrystals. However, only when zinc acetate is used, the PL stability can be conserved at high excitation power. Simultaneously, we have studied the influence of zinc cations and acetate ligands on the kinetics of nanocrystal growth. The presented results underline the importance of short surface capping ligands and zinc cations in CdS nanocrystal synthesis. This study exhibits a new advantage of exploiting zinc acetate reagents in one-pot nanocrystal synthesis.

In this work modification of TiO2 thin films structure by doping with europium was described. Nanocrystalline films were prepared by high energy magnetron sputtering process. The influence of europium on the microstructure of TiO2 was determined based on the results of X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence measurements. It was found that undoped film had rutile structure directly after deposition (without additional annealing), while 0.2 at.% and 0.4 at.% of the dopant was sufficient to receive TiO2 films with anatase form. The type of structure was confirmed with the aid of Raman spectroscopy and by TEM observations. The amount of Eu-dopant had direct impact on PL intensity as well as presence of defect (voids) in the film.

Terbium-doped silicon-rich silicon oxide films were deposited and hydrogenated at elevated temperatures. The influence of hydrogenation on defects-mediated non-radiative recombination of excited Tb 3+ ions was investigated by means of photoluminescence and photoluminescence decay measurements. An increase in photoluminescence intensity and photoluminescence decay time was observed upon hydrogenation for the main 5 D 4 – 7 F 5 transition of Tb 3+ ions. This observation was ascribed to saturation of non-radiative recombination defect centers with hydrogen. It was found that the number of emitted photons increases upon passivation as a result of two effects: (1) a reduction of the non-radiative recombination rate, and (2) optical activation of new Tb 3+ emitters. Based on the obtained results and literature data, Forster energy-transfer was suggested as the interaction responsible for the non-radiative coupling between Tb 3+ ions and defects.

In this paper, we investigate non-single exponential photoluminescence decays in various disordered condensed-matter systems. For such materials, two formulas for the average lifetime of system’s excited state are commonly used in the analysis of experimental data. In many cases, the choice of formula is arbitrary and lacks a clear physical justification. For this reason, our main goal is to show that the choice of correct mathematical formula should be based on the interpretation of measured photoluminescence decay curve. It is shown that depending on the investigated system, after appropriate normalization, photoluminescence decay curve can represent either a survival probability function or a probability density function of lifetime and for this reason two different formulas for the average lifetime are required. It is also shown that, depending on luminescence quantum yield, some information on the probability density function of lifetime can be lost in the process of measurement, which results in underestimated values of average lifetime. Finally, we provide an interpretation of total decay rate distributions which are frequently obtained by phenomenological modeling of non-single exponential photoluminescence decays.

International audience; In this work, silicon nitride films containing terbium were deposited by reactive magnetron co-sputtering in a nitrogen enriched plasma and subjected to rapid thermal annealing treatments. The influence of annealing temperature on the emission and absorption properties of these films was investigated by photoluminescence, photoluminescence decay and photoluminescence excitation measurements. An increase in the photo-luminescence intensity and photoluminescence decay time was observed upon annealing for the main 5 D 4-7 F 5 transition of Tb 3+ ions. This observation was attributed to decrease of the non-radiative recombination and increase of the number of excited Tb 3+ ions upon annealing. Moreover, high temperature annealing was found to shift the spectral position of absorption bands observed in the photoluminescence excitation spectra. In general, these excitation spectra were shown to have a rather complicated structure and were decomposed into three Gaussian bands. It was suggested that two of these excitation bands might be due to indirect excitation of Tb 3+ ions via defects and the third excitation band could be due to direct 4f-5d transition.

TiO2 and TiO2:Nd thin films were deposited using reactive magnetron sputtering process from mosaic Ti–Nd targets with various Nd concentration. The thin films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and spectroscopic techniques. Photoluminescence (PL) in the near infrared obtained upon 514.5 nm excitation was also examined. The relationship between the Nd concentration, structural, optical and photoluminescence properties of prepared thin films was investigated and discussed. XRD and TEM measurements showed that an increase in the Nd concentration in the thin films hinders the crystal growth in the deposited coatings. Depending on the Nd amount in the thin films, TiO2 with the rutile, mixed rutile–amorphous or amorphous phase was obtained. Transmittance measurements revealed that addition of Nd dopant to titania matrix did not deteriorate optical transparency of the coatings, however it influenced on the position of the fundamental absorption edge and therefore on the width of optical band gap energy. All TiO2:Nd thin films exhibited PL emission that occurred at ca. 0.91, 1.09 and 1.38 μm. Finally, results obtained for deposited coatings showed that titania with the rutile structure and 1.0 at.% of Nd was the most efficient in VIS to NIR photon conversion.

Titanium dioxide thin films, each doped with the same amount of neodymium (1 at.%) were deposited by Low Pressure Hot Target Reactive Sputtering and High Energy Reactive Magnetron Sputtering processes in order to obtain anatase and rutile thin film structures respectively. The microstructure and phase composition were analyzed using the transmission electron microscopy method including high resolution electron microscopy imaging. The measurements of the optical properties showed, that both prepared thin films were transparent in the visible light range and had a low extinction coefficient of ca. 3 ⋅ 10−3. The thin film with the anatase structure had a lower cut-off wavelength and refractive index and a higher value of optical energy band gap as-compared to the TiO2:Nd coating with the rutile structure. Simultaneously, more efficient photoluminescence emission was observed for the rutile thin films.

Silicon-rich silicon oxide films, with various Si concentrations, were deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition and annealed at 1100 °C in order to form silicon nanocrystals. For these films, it has been found that the absorption edge shifts as a function of the nanocrystal size due to the quantum confinement of exciton. This result showed that the size-related effects are present in the investigated films. Next, we examined the influence of the nanocrystal size on the vibrational modes. In this case, the Raman line related to silicon nanocrystals significantly down-shifts as a function of the nanocrystal size, which is against the predictions of the phonon confinement model. It has been shown that this effect is due to stress exerted on the nanocrystals. It has been also found that this stress changes from compressive to tensile, and the stress character depends on the film stoichiometry.

In this work, terbium and europium doped YAlO3 phosphors were synthesized by sol–gel method. It has been shown that after annealing at 1000 °C these phosphors crystallize in the cubic garnet phase, similar to Y3Al5O12. As evidenced by the time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy and Maximum Entropy Method, the photoluminescence decay of both europium 5D0 and terbium 5D4 states has two lifetime components: short and long, both of the order of milliseconds. Moreover, for both phosphors the short photoluminescence lifetime was ascribed to the ions occupying low-symmetry sites in the vicinity of the nanocrystal surface, while the long decay component was related to the ions present in the bulk of YAlO3 nanocrystal. For both dopants, the long lifetime component of Tb3+ and Eu3+ emission is longer than the equivalent lifetimes in bulk Y3Al5O12 crystal.

Terbium doped silicon oxynitride host matrix is suitable for various applications such as light emitters compatible with CMOS technology or frequency converter systems for photovoltaic cells. In this study, amorphous Tb3+ ion doped nitrogen-rich silicon oxynitride (NRSON) thin films were fabricated using a reactive magnetron co-sputtering method, with various N2 flows and annealing conditions, in order to study their structural and emission properties. Rutherford backscattering (RBS) measurements and refractive index values confirmed the silicon oxynitride nature of the films. An electron microscopy analysis conducted for different annealing temperatures (T A) was also performed up to 1200 {\textdegree}C. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images revealed two different sublayers. The top layer showed porosities coming from a degassing of oxygen during deposition and annealing, while in the region close to the substrate, a multilayer-like structure of SiO2 and Si3N4 phases appeared, involving a spinodal decomposition. Upon a 1200 {\textdegree}C annealing treatment, a significant density of Tb clusters was detected, indicating a higher thermal threshold of rare earth (RE) clusterization in comparison to the silicon oxide matrix. With an opposite variation of the N2 flow during the deposition, the nitrogen excess parameter (Nex) estimated by RBS measurements was introduced to investigate the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum behavior and emission properties. Different vibration modes of the Si--N and Si--O bonds have been carefully identified from the FTIR spectra characterizing such host matrices, especially the 'out-of-phase' stretching vibration mode of the Si--O bond. The highest Tb3+ photoluminescence (PL) intensity was obtained by optimizing the N incorporation and the annealing conditions. In addition, according to these conditions, the integrated PL intensity variation confirmed that the silicon nitride-based host matrix had a higher thermal threshold of rare earth clusterization than its silicon oxide counterpart. Analysis of time-resolved PL intensity versus T A showed the impact of Tb clustering on decay times, in agreement with the TEM observations. Finally, PL and PL excitation (PLE) experiments and comparison of the related spectra between undoped and Tb-doped samples were carried out to investigate the impact of the band tails on the excitation mechanism of Tb3+ ions.

Terbium doped silicon oxynitride host matrix is suitable for various applications such as light emitters compatible with CMOS technology or frequency converter systems for photovoltaic cells. In this study, amorphous Tb

In the current study we propose to use a new system for labeling biological processes. Gallium nitride nanocrystals doped by europium ions (nc-GaN:Eu 3+ ) have been obtained and used to identify the cells undergoing process of programmed cell death. Obtained by combustion method, GaN:Eu 3+ fluorescent nanocrystals have been covered with the polymeric envelope, bearing epoxy groups. Carbohydrate-binding protein-lectin-specifically recognizing cells undergoing programmed cell death was conjugated to the envelope of nanoparticles. Incubation of alive and dead cells with nanoparticles suspension and subsequent analysis using fluorescent and phase-contrast microscopy revealed predominate binding of nanoparticles to dead cells, while intact cell did not bind nanoparticles under the same conditions.

In this work, silicon-rich silicon oxide films of different stoichiometry were annealed at high temperatures in order to obtain silicon nanocrystals embedded in silica. The low-frequency Raman scattering has been observed and related to acoustic phonons confined in these nanocrystals. It has been found that this scattering consists of two modes: one at a lower frequency and one at a higher frequency. The depolarization ratios for these modes were determined, showing that the lower frequency mode is depolarized and the higher frequency mode is polarized. It has been also found that under specific conditions of film preparation the product of mode frequency and nanocrystal diameter is scale invariant. Finally, it has been shown that the confined acoustic phonon frequencies do not simply depend on the nanocrystal size alone, but also on the Si concentration in the film itself. This effect has been ascribed to the accelerated nucleation and enhanced crystallization occurring in the films deposited with higher Si content.

article i nfo In this work, the excitation mechanism of Eu 3+ ions embedded into nanocrystalline TiO2 film obtained by Low Pressure Hot Target Reactive Sputtering has been investigated by means of photoluminescence, photoluminescence excitation, transmission and surface photovoltage spectroscopy. The strong emission related to europium ions in the visible range has been observed at a non resonant excitation wavelength suggesting an efficient excitation transfer from the matrix to the ions. Based on obtained results, indirect excitation mechanism of europium ions has been confirmed and discussed. Moreover, surface activity strongly depending on environment conditions, has been also observed.

Silicon nanocrystals embedded in a silicon-rich silicon oxide matrix doped with Er3+ ions have been fabricated by electron cyclotron resonance plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Indirect excitation of erbium photoluminescence via silicon nanocrystals has been investigated. Temperature quenching of the photoluminescence originating from the silicon nanocrystals and the erbium ions has been observed. Activation energies of the thermally activated quenching process were estimated for different excitation wavelengths. The temperature quenching mechanism of the emission is discussed. Also, the origin of visible emission and kinetic properties of Er-related emission have been discussed in details.

The effect of silicon concentration and annealing temperature on terbium luminescence was investigated for thin silicon rich silicon oxide films. The structures were deposited by means of plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The structural properties of these films were investigated by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy and Raman scattering. The optical properties were investigated by means of photoluminescence and photoluminescence decay spectroscopy. It was found that both the silicon concentration in the film and the annealing temperature have a strong impact on the terbium emission intensity. In this paper, we present a detailed discussion of these issues and determine the optimal silicon concentration and annealing temperature.

Silicon nanocrystals embedded in an oxide matrix formed in a multilayer architecture were deposited by the magnetron sputtering method. By means of Raman spectroscopy we have found that compressive stress is exerted on the silicon nanocrystal core. The stress varies as a function of silicon concentration (O/Si ratio) in the silicon-rich oxide (SRO) layers, which can be attributed to the changing nanocrystal environment. By conducting the time-resolved spectroscopy experiment, we demonstrate that, depending on the nanocrystal surroundings, a different amount of nonradiative recombination sites participates in the excited carrier relaxation process, leading to changes of the relative quantum yield of photoluminescence.

International audience; Silicon reach-silicon-oxide (SRSO) film containing silicon nanoclusters was obtained by the reactive magnetron sputtering. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra were measured as a function of temperature at different excitation wavelengths and additionally at different excitation power densities. Obtained PL spectra characterize by two emission bands centered at 1.6 and 2.4 eV. For these bands, temperature behaviour of PL intensities strongly differs but clearly correlate each other. Moreover, it has been observed that obtained PL intensities versus temperature exhibit a strong dependence on the excitation power density in the low temperature range.

The effect of doping by boron on optical properties of multilayers containing Si-NCs were studied by means of photoluminescence (PL), time-resolved PL, photoluminescence excitation (PLE), transmission and reflection measurements. It was found that PL decay is strongly non-single exponential and can be described by means of Laplace transform of log-normal decay rates distribution. It was also proposed that changes observed in the distribution central moments reflect the disorder induced by boron-doping.

International audience; We report on the microstructure and photoluminescence (PL) properties of Nd-doped SiO2 thin films containing silicon nanoparticles (Si-np) as a function of the annealing temperature and the Nd concentration. The thin films, which were grown on Si substrates by reactive magnetron co-sputtering, contain the same Si excess. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra show that a phase separation occurs during the annealing due to the agglomeration of the Si excess resulting in the formation of Si-np. Besides, after annealing, the films exhibit PL from excitonic states confined in Si-np. We showed that the intensity of the PL of Nd3+ ions that occurs at ~0.92, 1.06, and 1.4 µm is maximal at low Nd concentration and while well-passivated Si-np are formed. FTIR and x-ray measurements showed that the increase in the Nd incorporation has detrimental effects on the PL of Nd3+ because of the formation of Nd2O3 nanocrystals and inherent disorder in the SiO2 host matrix. PL excitation measurements demonstrate that the PL of Nd3+ ions is nonresonant and follows the excitation of Si-np giving new evidence of the energy transfer from Si-np toward the rare earth ions.

The effects of the stoichiometry of the Si-rich oxide (SRO) layer, O/Si ratio, on the structural and optical properties of SRO/SiO2 multilayer films were investigated in this work. SRO/SiO2 multilayer films with different O/Si ratios were grown by a co-sputtering technique, and Si quantum dots (QDs) were formed with post-deposition annealing. By transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and glancing incidence x-ray diffraction (GIXRD), it was found that the Si QD size decreases with increases in O/Si ratio. The photoluminescence (PL) spectrum varies with the O/Si ratio in band position, shape and intensity. In addition, it was observed that the absorption edge blue-shifts with increases in the O/Si ratio. The change in the absorption edge is consistent with strengthening quantum confinement effects in Si QDs, as indicated by TEM and GIXRD. The optical properties were also investigated by 2D photoluminescence excitation (2D-PLE) and lifetime measurements. The origin of emission and absorption is discussed based on the absorption, PL, 2D-PLE and decay time measurements.

Silicon nanocrystals (Si-nc) embedded in a silicon-rich silicon oxide matrix codoped withEr3+ions have been fabricated by electron-cyclotron plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Indirect excitation of erbium photoluminescence via silicon nanocrystals has been obtained within a broad pump wavelength range. The influence of different nanocrystal sizes on the excitation transfer from the Si-nc toEr3+ions is discussed.

In this work, silicon-rich silicon oxide films containing terbium were prepared by means of plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The influence of hydrogen passivation on defects-mediated non-radiative recombination of excited Tb3+ions was investigated by photoluminescence,photoluminescence excitation, and photoluminescence decay measurements. Passivation was found to have no effect on shape and spectral position of the excitation spectra. In contrast, a gradual increase in photoluminescence intensity and photoluminescence decay time was observed upon passivation for the main 5D4-7F5 transition of Tb3+ions. This observation was attributed to passivation of non-radiative recombination defects centers with hydrogen. It was found that the number of emitted photons increases upon passivation as a result of two effects: (1) longer Tb3+ lifetime in the 5D4excited state and (2) optical activation of new Tb3+ emitters. The obtained results were discussed and compared with other experimental reports.

In this work, we will discuss the excitation and emission properties of Tb ions in a Silicon Rich Silicon Oxide (SRSO) matrix obtained at different technological conditions. By means of electron cyclotron resonance plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition, undoped and doped SRSO films have been obtained with different Si content (33, 35, 39, 50 at. %) and were annealed at different temperatures (600, 900, 1100 °C). The samples were characterized optically and structurally using photoluminescence (PL), PL excitation, time resolved PL, absorption, cathodoluminescence, temperature dependent PL, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy. Based on the obtained results, we discuss how the matrix modifications influence excitation and emission properties of Tb ions.

Terbium doped YAlO3 composites, with terbium concentrations up to 2.11 at%, were fabricated by co-precipitation in porous anodic alumina films grown on silicon. The presence of the cubic YAlO3 phase was confirmed by x-ray diffraction and FT-IR analysis. The fabricated samples demonstrate photoluminescence (PL) within the range 350?640?nm, which is associated with f?f transitions from the 5D3, 5G6 and 5D4 levels of Tb3+ ion. Additionally, a broad and fast- decaying PL band in the blue range has been observed, which is associated with defect states. Based on PL excitation spectra, the main excitation channel of Tb3+ ions is due to 4f?5d transitions. Excitation bands observed at 235, 270 and 320?nm have been related to the permitted low-spin 5d2 [LS], 5d1 [LS] and forbidden high-spin 5d1 [HS] states, respectively. The PL decay spectra have been measured, with the results analysed using the maximum entropy method; a strong indication of ion?ion interaction has been observed. The distribution of Tb3+ ions in the PAA?:?YAlO3 structure has been proposed and its influence on optical properties of Tb3+ ions has been discussed.

The influence of hydrogen rate on optical properties of silicon nanocrystals deposited by sputtering method was studied by means of time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy as well as transmission and reflection measurements. It was found that photoluminescence decay is strongly non-single exponential and can be described by the stretched exponential function. It was also shown that effective decay rate probability density function may be recovered by means of Stehfest algorithm. Moreover, it was proposed that the observed broadening of obtained decay rate distributions reflects the disorder in the samples.

In this work, GaN nanocrystals doped by europium (III) ions at different concentrations have been synthesized by modified nitridation method at 1050°C temperature. From X-ray diffraction spectra, it has been found that the size of nanocrystals strongly depends on the dopant concentration in a nonlinear way and varying from ∼ 20 up to 35 nm when the europium concentration varies from 0.5 up to 2 mol %. Moreover, it has been found that obtained nanocrystals are characterized by two main emission bands, one related to GaN core (∼ 364 nm) and the second to surface/defect states (∼ 600 nm). It has been shown that the relative intensity of these bands varies with changing of the europium concentration due to changes of GaN nanocrystals surface-to-volume ratio.

Silicon nanocrystals embedded in a silicon-rich silicon-oxide matrix have been fabricated at different silicon contents (38%, 40%, and 49%) using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition and annealing at different temperatures in the range from 900 °C to 1100 °C. Their optical properties have been investigated by photoluminescence and transmittance measurements. Strong, room-temperature emission bands at ∼1.6 eV have been observed for all samples, with intensities dependent on the annealing temperature and Si content of the samples. From transmittance measurements, a redshift of the absorption edge has been detected when increasing the annealing temperature or Si content.

Abstract Silicon nanocrystals embedded in a silicon oxide matrix were deposited by radio frequency reactive magnetron sputtering. By means of Raman spectroscopy, we have found that a compressive stress is exerted on the silicon nanocrystal cores. The stress varies as a function of silicon concentration in the silicon-rich silicon oxide layers varies, which can be attributed to changes of nanocrystal environment. By conducting the Fourier transform infrared absorption experiments, we have correlated the stresses exerted on the nanocrystal core to the degree of matrix structural order. PACS 78.67.Bf, 78.67.Pt, 73.63.Bd, 78.47.D, 74.25.Nd