ErxY2-xSiO5 nanocrystal and thin film for high gain per length material

Abstract

We report on fabricating ErxY2-xSiO5 nanocrystals using ErCl3⋅6H2O and YCl3⋅6H2O solutions and Si nanowires grown by VSL method. Use of crystalline host allows incorporation of up to 25 at. % Er without clustering and loss of optical activity, and use of Y enables continuous mixing of Er and Y for controlling cooperative upconversion. We obtain a cooperative upconversion coefficients of (2.2±1.1)×10-18 cm3/s and (5.4±2.7)×10-18 cm3/s at an Er concentration of 1.2×1021 cm-3 and 2.0×1021 cm-3, respectively. These values are up to 10 times lower at 10 times higher Er concentration than those reported for Er-doped silica, and shows that up to 69 dB/cm gain could be achieved for ultra-compact optical amplification. Also, we report on the deposition of ErxY2-xSiO5 thin film on Si substrate using ion beam sputter deposition. Rapid thermal annealing at 1100 °C is enough to form crystal phase the film and activate most of Er3+ ions.