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Register a new userStructural, chemical and optical characterizations of nanocrystallized AlN:Er thin films prepared by r.f. magnetron sputtering
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Valerie Brien
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Nanocrystalline n-AlN:Er thin films were deposited on (001) Silicon substrates by r. f. magnetron sputtering at room temperature to study the correlation between 1.54 $mu$m IR photoluminescence (PL) intensity, AlN crystalline structure and Er concentration rate. This study first presents how Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy of X-rays (EDSX) Er Cliff Lorimer sensitivity factor alpha = 5 is obtained by combining EDSX and electron probe micro analysis (EPMA) results on reference samples. It secondly presents the relative PL intensities of nanocrystallized samples prepared with identical sputtering parameters as a function of the Er concentration. The structure of crystallites in AlN films is observed by transmission electron microscopy.
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In the prospect of understanding the photoluminescence mechanisms of AlN films doped with erbium and targeting photonic applications we have synthesized non doped and Er-doped AlN films with different crystallized nanostructures by using PVD magnetron sputtering. Their crystalline morphology and their visible photoluminescence properties were precisely measured.Due to the weak cross-section absorption of rare earths like erbium, it is necessary to obtain an efficient energy transfer mechanism between the host matrix and the rare earth to obtain high luminescence efficiency. Our strategy is then to elaborate some nanostructures that could introduce additional intermediate electronic levels within the gap thanks to the presence of structural defects (point defects, grain boundaries{ldots}) and could lead to energy transfer from the AlN matrix to the rare earth.Doped and non-doped AlN films were prepared by radio frequency magnetron sputtering by using different experimental conditions that will be detailed. It will notably be shown how a negative polarization of samples during deposition allows obtaining crystalline morphologies ranging from the classical columnar structure to a highly disordered polycrystalline structure with grains of several nanometers (nearly amorphous). The nanostructures of the films could be categorized in three types: 1) type 1 was nanocolumnar (width of column ~ 15 nm), 2) type 2 was made of short columns (width of column ~ 10 nm) and 3) the last type was made of equiaxed nanocrystallites (size of grains ~3-4 nm).High-resolution photoluminescence spectroscopy was performed to characterize their optical behaviour. The samples were excited by the laser wavelengths at 458, 488 or 514 nm. A broad photoluminescence band was observed centred around 520 nm in columnar samples. In the same energy range, the highly resolved spectra also showed several sharp emission peaks. This fine structure could be attributed to erbium transitions. This fine structure tended to disappear going from type 1 to type 3 samples. Indeed, the relative intensity of the peaks decreased and their full width at half maximum increased. This change could be related to the density of defects that increased when the size of the grains decreased. The photoluminescence properties of the films in the visible range will be discussed in relation with their structure.
The effect of magnetron power on the room temperature 1.54 $mu$m infra-red photoluminescence intensity of erbium doped AlN films grown by r. f. magnetron sputtering, has been studied. The AlN:Er thin films were deposited on (001) Silicon substrates. The study presents relative photoluminescence intensities of nanocrystallized samples prepared with identical sputtering parameters for two erbium doping levels (0.5 and 1.5 atomic %). The structural evolution of the crystallites as a function of the power is followed by transmission electron microscopy. Copyright line will be provided by the publisher 1 Introduction For some time now, rare-earth (RE)-doped semiconductors represent significant potential applications in the field of opto-electronic technology. Part of this technological interest relies on the shielded 4f levels of the RE ions as they give rise to sharp and strong luminescence peaks [1-5]. Among the RE elements, Er is preferred to its counterparts since the Er ions can produce both visible light at 558 nm (green, one of the primary colours) and IR light at 1.54 $mu$m whose spectrum region coincides with the main low-loss region in the absorption spectrum of silica-based optical fibres, combining so potential applications towards photonic devices and towards optical communication devices operating in the infrared domain. These interesting emissions can however only be exploited when placed into host matrixes. On one side, the shielding of the intra 4f levels prevents the shifting of the RE 3+ energy levels and ensures the frequency emission stability. Moreover the intra 4f transitions are parity forbidden for the isolated ions. Matrixes can render the Er 3+ ions optically active, via a relaxation of selection rules due to crystal field effects. As silicon based materials were tested in the 1960s to the 90s with no clear industrial success it was found that the
Er-doped aluminum nitride films, containing different Er concentrations, were obtained at room temperature by reactive radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The prepared samples show a nano-columnar microstructure and the size of the columns is dependent on the magnetron power. The Er-related photoluminescence (PL) was studied in relation with the temperature, the Er content and the microstructure. Steady-state PL, PL excitation spectroscopy and time-resolved PL were performed. Both visible and near infrared PL were obtained at room temperature for the as-deposited samples. It is demonstrated that the PL intensity reaches a maximum for an Er concentration equal to 1 at. % and that the PL efficiency is an increasing function of the magnetron power. Decay time measurements show the important role of defect related non radiative recombination, assumed to be correlated to the presence of grain boundaries. Moreover PL excitation results demonstrate that an indirect excitation of Er 3+ ions occurs for excitation wavelengths lower than 600 nm. It is also suggested that Er ions occupy at least two different sites in the AlN host matrix.
In this work, we studied phase formation, structural and magnetic properties of iron-nitride (Fe-N) thin films deposited using high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) and direct current magnetron sputtering (dc-MS). The nitrogen partial pressure during deposition was systematically varied both in HiPIMS and dc-MS. Resulting Fe-N films were characterized for their microstructure, magnetic properties and nitrogen concentration. We found that HiPIMS deposited Fe-N films show a globular nanocrystalline microstructure and improved soft magnetic properties. In addition, it was found that the nitrogen reactivity impedes in HiPIMS as compared to dc-MS. Obtained results can be understood in terms of distinct plasma properties of HiPIMS.
Inverse Heusler alloy Mn2CoAl thin films, known as a spin-gapless semiconductor (SGS), grown by three different methods: ultra-high vacuum magnetron spattering, Ar-ion beam assisted sputtering, and molecular beam epitaxy, are investigated by comparing their electric transport properties, microstructures and atomic-level structures. Of the samples, the Mn2CoAl thin film grown by MBE consists of Mn- and Co-rich phases, the structures of which are determined to be the L21B-type and disordered L21-type, respectively, according to anomalous XRD analysis. None of them forms the XA-type structure expected for SGS Heusler alloy, although they all show SGS characteristics. We suggest, to validate SGS characteristics, it is necessary to extract not only magnetic and electric transport properties but also information about microstructures and atomic-scale structures of the films including defects such as atomic swap.
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