Structural and optical properties of highly Er-doped Yb-Y disilicate thin films

Highly Er-doped Yb-Y disilicates thin films grown on c-Si will be presented. The approach has permitted to vary independently the concentrations of both active rare earths, Er and Yb, and to effectively control the Er sensitization from Yb ions. We will demonstrate that these films are stable, having a uniform distribution of the chemical components throughout their thickness and a favored crystallization of the alpha-phase, which is the most optically efficient. We verified that this crystallization can be ascribed to a densification of the material and to the mobility locally introduced by ion implantation. Finally we will show a strong PL emission at 1.54 mu m, associated to the Yb-Er energy transfer mechanism, without any deleterious energy back-transfer. These properties make this new class of thin films a valuable and promising approach for the realization of efficient planar amplifiers. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America