Luminescence and structure of Er3+ doped Zirconia films deposited by electron beam evaporation

Abstract Erbium doped Zirconia films with good optical quality up to 5.0 μm in thickness were obtained by electron beam physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) on (1 0 0) oriented quartz substrates submitted at room temperature and at 700 K during the evaporation. Er 2 O 3 nominal concentration of 3.0, 5.0 and 8.0 mol.% were used as dopant and phase stabilizing in the ZrO 2 pellets prepared as evaporation source. The luminescence spectra measurements of the films show that the emission intensity and band shape of the 2 H 11/2 , 4 S 3/2 ⇒ 4 I 15/2 (520–580 nm) and 4 F 9/2 ⇒ 4 I 15/2 (640–700 nm) Er 3+ transitions depend on the crystalline structure achieved by the substrate temperature, dopant concentration and annealing. The films grown at 300 K exhibit an atypical weak and broadened luminescence while those grown at 700 K show luminescence band shape and emission intensity dependence on Er 2 O 3 concentration. The films annealed at 900 K for 5 h after evaporation present higher emission intensity than those not annealed. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements of the films grown at 300 K show both monoclinic and cubic polycrystalline structure, while those prepared at 700 K as also those annealed at 900 K show only cubic structure.