Comparative analysis of the 1.54 μm emission of Er-doped Si/SiO2 films and the size distribution of the nanostructure

Er3+-doped nanocrystalline-Si/SiO2 composite films were synthesized by RF co-sputtering of bulk-Si, SiO2, and Er2O3 targets. The visible and 1.54 μm emission bands of the samples were measured, as well as their optical transmission. We varied the relative concentrations of Si, Er, and the annealing temperature. The nanoparticles size distributions of the samples were obtained from their optical transmission spectra. We analyzed the dependence of the characteristic 1.54 μm Er-emission intensity on the size and concentration of the nanocrystalline particles and the dependence of the emission on the preparation conditions.