The lithium effect on the blue and red emissions of Er-doped zinc oxide thin films

Abstract

Lithium- and erbium-codoped zinc oxide thin films have been successfully deposited on heated glass substrates using the spray pyrolysis technique. This study is an investigation of the Li effect on the enhancement of cathodoluminescent intensity on Er-monodoped ZnO films. Crystallinity, morphology and luminescence characteristics were investigated in detail by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and cathodoluminescence. The Li–Er-codoped ZnO films show a higher intensity of blue and red emissions than the Er-monodoped ZnO films. The behaviour of that enhancement is attributed to the modification of the local symmetry of the Er3+ ion, which increases the intra 4f transition of the Er3+ ion. The blue and red emissions have an important effect to improve the capacity of data storage.