Erbium and terbium photoluminescence in silica sol–gel films on porous alumina

Abstract

Porous alumina covered with spin-on erbium-doped silica sol–gel film, subjected to thermal processing above 973 K, exhibited strong Er-related photoluminescence at 1.53 μm at room temperature. The intensity of the photoluminescence increases with the thickness of both the porous alumina and the spin-on film, the latter being built up layer-by-layer to avoid cracking. SIMS analysis shows that the Er penetrates throughout the porous alumina. The sol–gel method is a flexible technique, compatible with planar silicon-based technology, for fabricating lanthanide-containing luminescent structures in porous materials on silicon. © 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.