Enhancement of Er optical efficiency through bismuth sensitization in yttrium oxide

The process of energy transfer (ET) between optically active ions has been widely studied to improve the optical efficiency of a system for different applications, from lighting and photovoltaics to silicon microphotonics. In this work, we report the influence of Bi on the Er optical emission in erbium-yttrium oxide thin films synthesized by magnetron co-sputtering. We demonstrate that this host permits to well dissolve Er and Bi ions, avoiding their clustering, and thus to stabilize the optically active Er3+ and Bi3+ valence states. In addition, we establish the ET occurrence from Bi3+ to Er3+ by the observed Bi3+ PL emission decrease and the simultaneous Er3+ photoluminescence (PL) emission increase. This was further confirmed by the coincidence of the Er3+ and Bi3+ excitation bands, analyzed by PL excitation spectroscopy. By increasing the Bi content of two orders of magnitude inside the host, though the occurrence of Bi-Bi interactions becomes deleterious for Bi3+ optical efficiency, the ET process between Bi3+ and Er3+ is still prevalent. We estimate ET efficiency of 70% for the optimized Bi:Er ratio equal to 1:3. Moreover, we have demonstrated to enhance the Er3+ effective excitation cross section by more than three orders of magnitude with respect to the direct one, estimating a value of 5.3 × 10−18 cm2, similar to the expected Bi3+ excitation cross section. This value is one of the highest obtained for Er in Si compatible hosts. These results make this material very promising as an efficient emitter for Si-compatible photonics devices.