Photoluminescence and Microstructure of the Erbium-Doped Hydrogenated Amorphous SiO_x(O < x < 2)

The hydrogenated amorphous SiO_x films (a-SiO_x:H) with various oxygen contents have been prepared using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique. The films were implanted with erbium and annealed by rapid thermal annealing. An intense photoluminescence (PL) of Er at 1.54μm has been observed at 77K and at room temperature. The PL intensity depends strongly on both the oxygen content of the film and the rapid thermal annealing temperature and reaches its maximum if the ratio of O/Si in the film is approximately equal to 1.0 at 77K and to 1.76 at room temperature. The microstructure of the film also has strong influences on the PL intensity. The PL intensity at 250K is slightly more than a half of that at 15K. It means that the temperature quenching effect of the PL intensity is very weak.