The formation of light emitting cerium silicates in cerium-doped silicon oxides

Cerium-doped silicon oxides with cerium concentrations of up to 0.9 at. % were deposited by electron cyclotron resonance plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Bright cerium related photoluminescence, easily seen even under room lighting conditions, was observed from the films and found to be sensitive to film composition and annealing temperature. The film containing 0.9 at. % Ce subjected to anneal in N2 at 1200 °C for 3 h showed the most intense cerium-related emission, easily visible under bright room lighting conditions. This is attributed to the formation of cerium silicate [Ce2Si2O7 or Ce4.667 (SiO4)3O], the presence of which was confirmed by high resolution transmission electron microscopy.