Time-resolved Spectroscopy of Er Doped AlN Thin Films with Columnar and Nanogranular Morphologies Grown by PVD Magnetron Sputtering (RF)

Er-doped III-nitride semiconductors have emerged as very attractive materials to achieve photonic devices with multiple functionalities for photonic integrated circuits (PICs). We report on Er3+ luminescence at room temperature in the near infrared regions at 1.54 μm and Time-resolved spectroscopy in nanogranular and columnar AlN:Er films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering. The AlN:Er thin films were deposited on (001) Silicon substrates. The study presents relative photoluminescence intensities of nanocrystallized and columnar samples prepared with identical sputtering parameters for optimum erbium doping levels (1 atomic %). The luminescence due to rare earth ions in Al nitride thin layers can be in-creased by proper structural tailoring. In this contribution, we report on the photo-luminescence of the rare earth ion Er3+ that is contained in films prepared by RF magnetron sputtering of Al targets with additional Er constant sector in a nitrogen atmosphere.