Rare-earth-doped GVO films grown by pulsed laser deposition

Bulk crystals of the vanadates YVO4 and GdVO4 are well-known hosts for lanthanide ions and have been widely used in solid-state lasers as well as in phosphors. We report on the thin film growth of rare-earth-doped GdVO4 by pulsed laser deposition. These films were grown either nearly homoepitaxially on YVO4-substrates or heteroepitaxially on α-Al2O3-substrates. The first spectroscopic results of an Eu-doped GdVO4 film grown on YVO4 with a film thickness of 100 nm clearly indicate crystalline growth as the resulting emission and excitation spectra correspond well with the spectra from the bulk system. To confirm in more detail the structure of the films, X-ray diffraction measurements have been performed.