1.54 μm emission mechanism in Er-doped silicon-rich silicon oxides

Silicon-rich silicon oxide (SRSO) and Er-doped SRSO (SRSO:Er) thin films were formed by pulsed laser deposition, and characterized by photoluminescence (PL), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and UV-visible transmission in order to clarify the 1.54 μm emission mechanism in the SRSO:Er films. The oxygen content of the films was varied by the adjustment of oxygen partial pressure. The behavior of the 1.54 μm PL with oxygen partial pressure combined with XPS and XRD data show that the 1.54 μm emission intensity is related to the amount of SiO_x phase. This conclusion is well supported by the measurements of UV-visible transmission. In many previous papers, the 1.54 μm emission is associated with Si nanocrystals, but in our study the correlation between 1.54 μm emission intensity and the amount of SiO_x phase is much clearer.