Room-temperature 1.5 μm photoluminescence of Er3+-doped AlxGa1-xAs native oxides

Data are presented demonstrating 300 K, continuous wave (cw) photoluminescence near lambda=1.53 mu m from Er-implanted Al0.8Ga0.2As films oxidized in water vapor (N-2+H2O, 500 degrees C) and annealed (1 h, 700 degrees C) in Ar + O-2. The 40 nm full width at half-maximum (FWHM) spectra are 1.5X broader and similar to 10X more intense relative to spectra from unoxidized but annealed samples. The fluorescence decay shows a tau = 7 ms lifetime, with a faster tau = 1.9 Ins component characteristic of a cooperative upconversion mechanism. The data suggest that AlxGa1-xAs native oxides may provide a suitable host for rare-earth optical activity. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.