Optical waveguide and 1.54 μm photoluminescence properties in RF sputtered Er/Yb-doped ZnO thin films

•Er/Yb-doped ZnO thin film waveguides were realized by magnetron sputtering.•Highly c-axis oriented ZnO was deposited on SiO2 glass substrate.•The Er3 + related 1.54 μm emission from Er/Yb: ZnO thin film waveguide was observed.

The erbium-doped ZnO films were deposited on SiO2 glass and MgO crystal substrates by RF-magnetron sputtering and were characterized by the use of photoluminescence, X-ray diffraction, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the films fabricated on SiO2 glass substrate are highly c-axis oriented. The Er-doped films emit photoluminescence spectra centered at 1.54 μm, and the emission intensity is strongly related with substrate temperature. The waveguiding properties of the Er-doped ZnO film on SiO2 glass substrate are demonstrated by prism coupling. Both TE and TM modes are measured at 633 nm.