Substrate temperature dependence of structure and optical properties of ZnTiO3:Er3+/Yb3+thin films synthesized by pulsed laser deposition

ZnTiO3:Er3+,Yb3+ thin film phosphors were successfully deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) at different substrate temperatures. The distribution of the ions in the films was investi-gated and the chemical analysis showed that the doping ions were homogeneously distributed in the thin films. The optical response of the phosphors revealed that the reflectance percentages of the ZnTiO3:Er3+,Yb3+ vary with the silicon substrate temperature due to the differences in the thickness and morphological roughness of the thin films. Under 980 nm diode laser excitation, the ZnTiO3:Er3+,Yb3+ film phosphors displayed up-conversion emission from the Er3+ electronic transitions, with violet, blue, green, and red emission lines at 410, 480, 525, 545 and 660 nm from 2H9/2 & RARR;4I15/2, 4F7/2 & RARR;4I15/2, 2H11/2 & RARR;4I15/2,4S3/2 & RARR;4I15/2 and 4F9/2 & RARR;4I15/2 transitions, respectively. The up-conversion emission was enhanced by increasing the silico (Si) substrate temperature during the deposition. Based on the photoluminescence properties and decay lifetime analysis, the energy level diagram was established and the up-conversion energy-transfer mechanism was discussed in detail.

Automated summary

ZnTiO3:Er3+,Yb3+ thin film phosphors were successfully deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) at different substrate temperatures. The distribution of the ions in the films was homogeneous and chemical analysis confirmed uniform doping. The optical response of the phosphors varied with the silicon substrate temperature, and under 980 nm diode laser excitation, the ZnTiO3:Er3+,Yb3+ film phosphors displayed up-conversion emission from the Er3+ electronic transitions.