Engineering of optical active microcavities based on color centers in LiF by ion implantation

For the first time active planar optical microcavities with a thin colored lithium fluoride film as spacer have been fabricated by ion implantation. Irradiation has been realized through the top Bragg mirror of the passive microcavity, already fully deposited, to produce stable visible-emitting F2 and F3+ color centers in the LiF film. The spectral and spatial emission features of the microcavities demonstrate the feasibility of such an irradiation method and the possibility of controlling the radiative properties of compact light sources based on point defects in this interesting material.