Visible PL Emission from Erbium Doped BaTiO3 thin Films Deposited by RF Magnetron Sputtering

The present study reports the deposition and characterization of Er3+ (Er) doped BaTiO3 (BT: Er) thin films obtained onto quartz substrates by RF magnetron sputtering method. BT films with different Er3+ concentrations (1, 3 and 5 wt %) were annealed at 1073 K in air. X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD) of BT: Er thin films with different Er3+ concentration showed tetragonal phase with preferred orientation along (110) plane and the crystallinity increased with concentration. The average crystallite size increased from 12.52-15.04 nm. An average transmittance of >80% in visible region were observed for all the films. Optical band gap energy of BT: Er films varied from 3.76-3.59 eV. Tuning of refractive index can be done using BT: Er thin films. Photoluminescence spectra of the films exhibited an increase in the emission intensity upto 3 wt% of Er3+ and then a decrease, due to concentration quenching.