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Optics Letters

Optical spectroscopy and energy transfer in amorphous AlN-doped erbium and ytterbium ions for applications in laser cavities

Muhammad Maqbool, Tyler R. Corn

Published Sep 14, 2010• 15 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Sputter-deposited thin-film amorphous AlN:Er (1 at. %) emits at 554 and 561 nm as a result of (2)H(11/2)→(4)I(15/2) and (4)S(3/2)→(4)I(15/2) transitions. AlN:Yb (1 at. %) gives a weak emission peak at 966 nm as a result of (2)F(5/2)→(2)F(7/2). The codoping of Er and Yb in AlN results in energy transfer from Er(+3) to Yb(+3) and enhances the Yb(+3) emissions by an order of magnitude. Transfer of electrons occurs from the (4)S(3/2) state of Er(+3) to the (2)F(5/2) state of Yb(+3). The weak emission from Yb(+3), when excited by a 532 nm laser in the absence of Er(+3), confirms that the luminescence enhancement in ytterbium is due to energy transfer and not to direct green light excitation by the erbium emission. A possibility of population inversion and a four-level laser cavity formation exists in the Er(+3)-Yb(+3) system.

DOI
10.1364/ol.35.003117

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Technical Physics Letters•Feb 1, 2016•1 citation
Sputter-deposited thin-film amorphous AlN:Er (1 at. %) emits at 554 and 561 nm as a result of (2)H(11/2)→(4)I(15/2) and (4)S(3/2)→(4)I(15/2) transitions. AlN:Yb (1 at. %) gives a weak emission peak at 966 nm as a result of (2)F(5/2)→(2)F(7/2). The codoping of Er and Yb in AlN results in energy transfer from Er(+3) to Yb(+3) and enhances the Yb(+3) emissions by an order of magnitude. Transfer of electrons occurs from the (4)S(3/2) state of Er(+3) to the (2)F(5/2) state of Yb(+3). The weak emission from Yb(+3), when excited by a 532 nm laser in the absence of Er(+3), confirms that the luminescence enhancement in ytterbium is due to energy transfer and not to direct green light excitation by the erbium emission. A possibility of population inversion and a four-level laser cavity formation exists in the Er(+3)-Yb(+3) system.
The effects of Au thin layers on luminescence properties of Er and Yb co-doped Al2O3 films were studied. The 1.54μm emission of Er3+ excited by the energy transfer from Yb3+ is found to be strongly enhanced by placing a Au layer on top of the films. Photoluminescence excitation spectra of the 1.54μm PL of Er3+ and time transients of the 980nm emission of Yb3+ revealed that PL enhancement arises from two different mechanisms. The first one is the enhancement of local electric fields accompanied by the excitation of surface plasmons of rough Au surfaces. The other one is the enhancement of energy transfer rate from Yb3+ to Er3+ caused by the modification of the local photonic mode density at the position of the Yb–Er coupled system.
An analysis is made of some processes that occur under conditions of accumulation of population inversion due to the 4 I 13/2 – 4 I 15/2 resonant transition in Er 3+ ions in ytterbium–erbium (Yb–Er) glasses of various compositions. Methods of measuring the parameters of direct and reverse excitation energy transfer between Er 3+ and Yb 3+ ions are also studied. It is found that, under certain conditions achieved in practice, appreciable bleaching of the medium should be observed at the frequency of the pump radiation, particularly under conditions of high-intensity reverse transfer of excitation energy from Er 3+ to Yb 3+ ions. This is typical of glasses having a low rate of intracenter relaxation of Er 3+ ions. It is also shown that nonsteady-state rate equations that assume a linear relationship between the rate of interionic transfer and the ground state population of the acceptor consistently describe the energy characteristics of the excitation processes of Yb–Er glasses. In this case, it is not necessary to introduce in the calculation model additional excitation losses that increase nonlinearly with the pump radiation.
Successful incorporation of both erbium and ytterbium in alumina by ion implantation is reported. Some evidence for indirect pumping of erbium through the transfer of energy from ytterbium has been observed. Both plasma-enhanced CVD deposited alumina thin films and sapphire crystals were employed as substrates. Yb3+ and Er3+ concentrations ranged from 2.4 At% to 8 At% and from 0.4 At% to 0.8 At%, respectively. The samples show strong, broad, room-temperature photoluminescence at λ = 1.53 µm corresponding to the intra-4f transitions between the 4I13/2 (first excited) and the 4I15/2 (ground) state of Er3+. The full width at half maximum of the emission spectrum is as high as 67 nm for the Al2O3 thin films; for the sapphire crystals it is 45 nm. The fluorescence lifetime of the samples has been measured to be as high as 4.2 ms at 50 mW pump power.
Atomic layer deposited (ALD) Y 2 O 3 thin films have been thoroughly investigated for optical or electronic applications. The coherent spectroscopy of lanthanide ions doped into this material has also recently attracted increasing interest in the field of quantum technologies for which they are considered promising candidates in quantum memories or as spin–photon interfaces. However, these most demanding applications require a deep control over the local positioning of the ions and their close environment in the crystalline matrix. This study focuses on the structural as well as optical properties of Eu 3+ and Er 3+ dopants in Y 2 O 3 using photoluminescence (PL), luminescence decay times, and inhomogeneous line width (Γ inh ) measurements within this particular context. While as-grown ALD films do not provide an ideal host for the emitters, we demonstrate that by optimizing the deposition conditions and using appropriate annealing post treatments narrow inhomogeneous lines can be obtained for the 7 F 0 ↔ 5 D 0 transition of Eu 3+ even for nanoscale films. Furthermore, about 1.5 ms lifetime has been measured for the infrared telecom transition of Er in ultrathin films (<10 nm), which is an order of magnitude higher than in nanoparticles of the same size. These results validate optimized rare-earth-doped ALD Y 2 O 3 films as a suitable platform for photonics applications where few-nanometer-thick films with well-localized emitters are mandatory. This approach provides the first building blocks toward the development of more complex devices for quantum sensing or hybrid structures coupled with other systems such as two-dimensional materials.
Characteristics of ytterbium to erbium energy transfer in Yb:Er:phosphate glasses have been studied for a case when Nd phosphate glass laser is used as a pumping source. A theoretical model of the energy transfer was developed to reproduce the experimentally observed population dynamics of the Er/sup 3+/ upper and lower laser levels. The results show that saturation and frequency hole burning of the inhomogeneously broadened Yb/sup 3+/ absorption line are of primary importance in determining the dynamics and efficiency of the Yb/sup 3+/-Er/sup 3+/ energy transfer under Nd laser pumping. The influence of other loss channels that have been identified in previous studies is found to be relatively small. The model also yields the lifetime of the frequency hole, as well as the effective rates of energy transfer between groups of Yb/sup 3+/ and Er/sup 3+/ ions in phosphate glasses.>
This Letter presents results of analysis of the absorption spectra of AlN:Er 3+ bulk crystals. In the spectral of 370–700 nm, absorption lines responsible for intraconfiguration electron transition from the ground state 4 I 15/2 to the excited states of Er 3+ ions are found. Transitions to the levels of the 4 F 9/2 , 2 H 11/2 , and 4 G 11/2 states at 2 K are studied in detail. The number of observed lines for these transitions fully agrees with that theoretically possible for f – f electron transitions in Er 3+ ions found in a noncubic crystal field. The small width of the observed lines and their number indicate that erbium ions displace mostly one regular crystal position. Most probably, Er 3+ occupies the position of Al. Energy positions of excited states for the considered transitions are determined.