(Dielectric Science & Technology Thomas Callinan Award) Rare-Earth Luminescence in Silicon-Based Thin Film Structures

For Si-based materials to be used in solid-state lighting and silicon photonics schemes it is necessary to have precise control of the optical emission from these materials. This can be accomplished using rare earth dopants such as Ce, Tb, and Eu to obtain blue, green, and red emissions, respectively. In this talk, we first will provide a review of our work in this field and then focus on Eu-doped films, which are particularly attractive for silicon photonic applications due to their intense emission in the visible spectral region [1]. We will also discuss the benefits of introducing a novel hybrid radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering source in the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) reactor chamber [2], using the example of Tb-doped SiON films [3]. This approach contrasts with traditional doping methods which use metal-organic precursors or ion implantation to introduce rare-earth dopant species into the host matrix. [1] F. Azmi et al., “Tunable Emission from Eu:SiOxNy Thin Films Prepared by Integrated Magnetron Sputtering and Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition”, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 40, 043402 (2022); DOI: 10.1116/6.0001761 [2] J.W. Miller et al., “Integrated ECR-PECVD and Magnetron Sputtering System for Rare-Earth-Doped Si-Based Materials”, Surface and Coatings Technology 336, 99 (2018); DOI: 10.1016/j.surfcoat.2017.08.051 [3] Z. Khatami et al., "A comprehensive calibration of integrated magnetron sputtering and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition for rare-earth doped thin films", J. Mater. Res. (2023); DOI: 10.1557/s43578-023-01207-2