Intra‐4f‐shell transitions at room temperature of Er3+ ions in Ca1−xErxF2+x thin films grown on Si(100)

Intra‐4f‐shell transitions of Er3+ ions in Ca1−xErxF2+x thin films were studied by means of photoluminescence (PL) and cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements at room temperature. The samples, with x varying from 0.01 to 0.2, were epitaxially grown on Si(100) substrates by sublimation of solid solution powders. Using the 488‐nm line of an Ar+‐ion laser as the excitation source, it is shown that the films present strong PL lines corresponding to the internal transitions between the 4S3/2,4F9/2,4I11/2, and 4I13/2 excited levels and the 4I15/2 fundamental state of Er3+ (4f11) ions. Their centers of gravity were pointed out at λ=533, 650, 980, and 1530 nm, respectively. These electronic transitions were also evidenced by means of the CL technique. Moreover, this technique showed that the luminescence is uniform in all points of the layers. The PL intensities vary considerably as a function of the erbium substitution rate. In the visible range the strongest luminescence was found for x less than 0.01, while for ...