Photoluminescence study of Ce-doped silica films

Ce-doped silica films with different Ce concentrations were prepared by ion-beam sputtering and ion implantation. The films containing 1.2 at% Ce were annealed at temperatures from 500 °C to 1200 °C in air ambient, and were annealed in different ambient at 1100 °C. Ce-related photoluminescence was observed in films sensitive to the Ce concentrations, annealing temperatures and the annealing ambient. The peak intensity of the photoluminescence band is approximately linear with Ce concentrations. Also, the photoluminescence intensity is dependent on the annealing temperatures and reaches its highest value after annealing at 700 °C. In addition, the experimental results show that compared with the annealing in an air ambient, the photoluminescence intensity can be enhanced with nitrogen gas. There would be no obvious change for the photoluminescence position or shape.