Quantitative SIMS-analysis of erbium profiles in LiNbO3

Modern fiberoptic communication technology uses light of 1.5 m wavelength and Er³⁺ is the laser active ion for this wavelength. Doping of crystalline LiNbO₃ (an electrooptical material) with erbium ions permits the fabrication of signal-amplifying electrooptic devices. Novel results of three different approaches have been presented to dope the near surface area of LiNbO₃ for its application in planar optoelectronics: erbium indiffusion from the surface, implantation of erbium into LiNbO₃ and subsequent annealing schemes, and the homoepitaxial growth of Er-doped LiNbO₃ on LiNbO₃ single crystalline material by a laser deposition method. These experiments are not only useful for creating integrated optical devices with active amplifying functions, but they are also important examples for fabricating and studying novel thin ferroelectric films. Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) has been employed as the main analytical tool for quantitative determination of the erbium concentration profiles.