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Optical Materials Express

Limit to the erbium ions emission in silicon-rich oxide films by erbium ion clustering

N. Prtljaga, Daniel Navarro‐Urrios, A. Tengattini, Aleksei Anopchenko, Joan Manel Ramírez, José Manuel Rebled, Sònia Estradé, Jean-Philippe Colonna, Jean-Marc Fédéli, B. Garrido, Lorenzo Pavesi

Published Aug 21, 2012• 29 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We have fabricated a series of thin (~50 nm) erbium-doped (by ion implantation) silicon-rich oxide films in the configuration that mitigates previously proposed mechanisms for loss of light emission capability of erbium ions. By combining the methods of optical, structural and electrical analysis, we identify the erbium ion clustering as a driving mechanism to low optical performance of this material. Experimental findings in this work clearly evidence inadequacy of the commonly employed optimization procedure when optical amplification is considered. We reveal that the significantly lower erbium ion concentrations are to be used in order to fully exploit the potential of this approach and achieve net optical gain.

DOI
10.1364/ome.2.001278

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We have fabricated a series of thin (~50 nm) erbium-doped (by ion implantation) silicon-rich oxide films in the configuration that mitigates previously proposed mechanisms for loss of light emission capability of erbium ions. By combining the methods of optical, structural and electrical analysis, we identify the erbium ion clustering as a driving mechanism to low optical performance of this material. Experimental findings in this work clearly evidence inadequacy of the commonly employed optimization procedure when optical amplification is considered. We reveal that the significantly lower erbium ion concentrations are to be used in order to fully exploit the potential of this approach and achieve net optical gain.
Rare-earth ion doped oxide thin films integrated on silicon substrates provide a route toward scalable, chip-scale platforms for quantum coherent devices. Erbium-doped TiO2 is an attractive candidate: the Er3+ optical transition is compatible with C-band optical fiber communications, while TiO2 is an insulating dielectric compatible with silicon process technology. Through structural and optical studies of Er-doped TiO2 thin films grown via molecular beam deposition on silicon, SrTiO3, and sapphire substrates, we have explored the impact of polycrystallinity and microstructure on the optical properties of the Er emission. Comparing polycrystalline TiO2(rutile)/Si with single-crystalline TiO2(rutile)/r-sapphire and polycrystalline TiO2(anatase)/Si with single-crystalline TiO2(anatase)/SrTiO3, we observe that the inhomogeneous linewidth (Γinh) of the most prominent peak in the Er spectrum (the Y1–Z1 transition, 1520 and 1533 nm in rutile and anatase TiO2) is significantly narrower in the polycrystalline case. This implies a relative insensitivity to extended structural defects and grain boundaries in such films (as opposed to, e.g., point defects). We show that the growth of an undoped, underlying TiO2 buffer on Si can reduce Γinh by a factor of 4–5. Expectedly, Γinh also reduces with decreasing Er concentrations: we observe a ∼2 order of magnitude reduction from ∼1000 ppm Er to ∼10 ppm Er. Γinh then gets limited to a residual value of ∼5 GHz that is insensitive to further reduction in the Er concentration. Based upon the above results, we argue that the optical properties in these thin films are limited by the presence of high “grown-in” point defect concentrations.
The hybrid of silicon and erbium-doped crystals provides a promising photonic platform for the advancement of quantum technologies, combining scalability, telecom compatibility, and complex quantum functionalities. However, the inherent high refractive index of silicon leads to optical field confinement within the silicon, limiting the number of optically active erbium ions and the achievable light absorption, which are essential for various quantum applications. To fully utilize the potential of erbium-doped crystals, we implemented bound states in the continuum within the hybrid silicon structures, which achieve substantial optical energy confinement within the lower-index crystal. Our structure, which is applicable to both transverse magnetic and transverse electric polarization modes, effectively increases the number of optically active erbium ions and demonstrates simultaneous minimal radiative losses and enhanced erbium absorption. Moreover, the core design principle is extensible to other low-refractive-index materials.
Lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI), thanks to its electro-optic properties and second order nonlinearity, is one of the most promising photonic materials for on-chip implementation of a complex photonic integrated circuit (PIC) [1]. Integration of rare earth ion emitters (RIE), characterized by high coherent transitions in both optical and microwave domains, into LNOI is a very attractive perspective to fully exploit the potential of this material in quantum optics applications and for on chip light generation and amplification. By choosing Erbium ions these functionalities can be implemented at telecom wavelengths (~1550 nm). Erbium integration in LNOI can be achieved using the smart cut technique [2]. However, this approach implies heating the material up to ~1100 °C, approaching the Curie temperature of lithium niobate (~1200 °C). Ion implantation also permits the incorporation of RIE into the lithium niobate (LN) crystal structure, operating at lower temperature with high spatial precision of the doped region in a complex PIC.
ABSTRACT Lithium niobate on insulator (LNOI) has emerged as a promising platform for photonic integrated circuits due to its strong electro‐optic, piezoelectric and nonlinear properties. The incorporation of rare‐earth ions, particularly erbium (Er 3+ ), enables potential functionalities such as quantum memory and single‐photon emission in the telecom band. This study presents a method for the Er 3+ doping of X‐cut LNOI using a focused ion beam (FIB) implantation system with sub‐100 nm spatial precision, demonstrating the ability to dope optically emitting rare‐earth ions into this technologically relevant platform. Photoluminescence (PL) studies of doped regions reveal characteristic emission consistent with bulk Er‐doped lithium niobate. The PL temperature dependence is studied from 300 to 5 K. The emission exhibits conventional behavior down to approximately 50 K, followed by a marked decrease in the emission intensity and lifetime at lower temperatures. This anomaly is suggested to relate to a suppression of the pyroelectric response in LiNbO 3 below 50 K, which affects the local electric field and consequently could modify the Er 3 + emission. The results demonstrate a method for targeted Er 3+ doping into the most widely used cut of LNOI for integrated photonic devices and provide further important considerations for their exploitation in cryogenic quantum devices.