Stability of erbium and silver implanted in silica-titania sol-gel films

We implanted silica-titania sol-gel films with 3 × 1015 at./cm2, 180 keV Er+ and 6 × 1016 at./cm2, 140 keV Ag+ ions. The energies were chosen so that the profiles of Ag and Er overlap. RBS and ERDA were used to study the behaviour of Ag, Er and H during the heat treatments used to densify the films. Implantation causes H depletion at the film surface and an increase in H concentration just beneath the implanted Ag and Er profiles. The total H content decreases by 27% to 75% during implantation. During annealing the H content decreases, with an almost complete H loss after annealing for 35 min at 800 °C. The Ag profile remains stable up to 600 °C. Above 700 °C Ag becomes increasingly mobile. Annealing at 800 °C for 35 min results in a nearly constant Ag distribution in the film. The Er profile remains unchanged with heat treatment up to the maximum temperature used (800 °C).