Effect of growth temperature on morphology, structure and luminescence of Eu-doped GaN thin films

The effect of growth temperature on morphology, structure, and photoluminescence (PL) of Eu-doped GaN (GaN:Eu) films grown by magnetron sputtering, and the relationships of growth-temperature-structure-PL were investigated by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and PL. The films grown at room temperature (RT), 573 K, and 773 K are composed of random crystalline grains, c-oriented GaN nanorods with lots of stacking faults, and well-crystalline c-oriented GaN, respectively. The characteristic emission lines of the Eu3+ were observed in the PL spectra at room temperature for the 573-K-grown and 773-K-grown films, while no emission line for the RT-grown film. The PL intensity from the 773-K-grown film is much stronger than that from the 573-K-grown film. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.