Preparation of Light-Emitting Ytterbium-Doped Tantalum-Oxide Thin Films Using a Simple Co-Sputtering Method

Kenta Miura^*, Kazusa Kano, Yuki Arai, Osamu Hanaizumi

Graduate School of Science and Technology, Gunma University, Kiryu, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/msa.2015.62024                

Abstract

Light-emitting ytterbium-doped tantalum-oxide thin films were prepared using a simple co-sputtering method for the first time. Sharp photoluminescence peaks having a wavelength of around 980 nm were observed from films annealed from 700°C to 1000°C for 10 to 40 min. The strongest intensity of the 980-nm peak was obtained from a film deposited using three ytterbium-oxide pellets and annealed at 800°C for 20 min. Such rare-earth doped tantalum-oxide sputtered films can be used as high-refractive-index materials of autocloned photonic crystals that can be applied to novel light-emitting devices, and they will also be used as both anti-reflection and down-conversion layers for realizing high-efficiency silicon solar cells.

Keywords

Tantalum Oxide, Ytterbium, Co-Sputtering, Annealing, Photoluminescence

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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