1.54 MU-M ROOM-TEMPERATURE LUMINESCENCE OF MEV ERBIUM-IMPLANTED SILICA GLASS

MeV erbium implantation doping of 10-mu-m-thick silica glass films on a Si substrate is studied with the aim of incorporating the rare-earth dopant on an optically active site in the silica network. As-implanted samples (3.5 MeV, 5 x 10(15) Er ions/cm-2) show a strong luminescent transition at a wavelength of 1.54-mu-m, even at room temperature, corresponding to an intra-4f transition of Er3+. Thermal annealing at temperatures up to 900-degrees-C increases the luminescence intensity by a factor of 2 to 3. For temperatures above 1000-degrees-C the intensity decreases drastically as a result of Er precipitation. The lifetime of the excited state is in the order of 10 ms. Photoluminescence studies at 4.2 K are used to identify implantation-induced damage.