Influence of deposition conditions on the optical properties of erbium-doped yttrium oxide films grown by aerosol-UV assisted MOCVD

Erbium-doped Y₂O₃ films were prepared by aerosol-UV assisted metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) at 410 °C. The effects of humidity of carrier gas and UV-assistance on their structure and optical properties were investigated on the as-deposited and thermal annealed films using infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. It was found that the as-deposited Er:Y₂O₃ films crystallise in the Y₂O₃ cubic structure and present a very low organic contamination when the deposition takes place under high air humidity and, even better, with UV-assistance. After annealing, two different structural phases are observed corresponding to the cubic and the monoclinic structures of Y₂O₃. The Er³⁺ luminescence analysed in the visible and IR regions, shows the classical green transitions. The best optical properties were obtained with as-deposited and annealed Er:Y₂O₃ films grown under high air humidity with UV-assistance. Under such deposition conditions, ⁴I_13/2 lifetimes was found to be 3.07 and 6.1 ms for films annealed at 800 and 1000 °C, respectively, and up-conversion phenomena were underlined. This indicates that the deposition conditions, in particular air humidity, play an important role in the luminescent properties even after annealing.