Fabrication of Er3+ doped oxyfluoride-silicate glass film by pulsed laser deposition for planar amplifier

Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique has been employed to fabricate glassy films based on the Er3+ doped oxyfluoride lead-silicate glasses. Glassy films have been produced at temperatures between 300 and 400 °C with O2 pressures ranging from 25 to 175 mTorr. The film microstructure appears to be determined mainly by substrate temperature. The film refractive index increases with higher temperatures and lower O2 pressures. The photoluminescence intensity of Er3+ ions and lifetime are very much dependent on the film microstructure and defects. Fewer fabrication defects and less porous films produce stronger fluorescence intensity and longer lifetime of Er3+ ions. At an optimized temperature and O2 pressure, the Er photoluminescence properties of the film can be reproduced and are very close to those of target glass. Consequently the work reported here suggested a good candidate for further investigation as a thin film material for EDWA.