Luminescence of a titanate compound under europium ion implantation

The ability to incorporate europium ions in a near-surface layer of a nonlinear optical material KTiOPO4 by ion implantation is reported here. Europium diffusion as well as surface modification were characterized after annealing using RBS. The photoluminescence of the as-implanted samples indicates that the creation of defects gives rise to green visible emission centered about 550 nm. Annealing up to 1000 °C does not allow the oxidation to the 3+ valence state of the europium ion. However it is shown that annealing up to such high temperature gives rise to an intense near infra-red photoluminescence in the range 800–1100 nm in implanted samples at an optimal fluence of 2 × 1013 europium ions/cm2.