Effect of Er local surrounding on photoluminescence of Si Er co-doped ZnO film

Er2O3:ZnO layers were deposited on SiO2/Si substrates by conventional magnetron sputtering under room temperature(RT), the Si doped Er: ZnO films were achieved by direct Si implantation with various Si doses(ranging from 4 *1015 to 2.5 *1016 cm−2) and post annealing at two different temperatures 950 and 1200 °C. Surface morphological and structure properties were measured by optical microscope, x-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The Er-Si-O compounds were obtained in Si doped Er: ZnO sample after annealed at 1200 °C. An increased photoluminescence (PL) intensity and widened profile are attributed to the change of local surrounding of Er caused by modification of ZnO lattice and the formation of Er-Si-O compounds.