Room-temperature 1.5 μm photoluminescence of Er3+-doped AlxGa1−xAs native oxides

Abstract

Data are presented demonstrating 300 K, continuous wave (cw) photoluminescence near $\text{λ=1.53\hspace{0.17em}μ}\mathrm{m}$ from Er-implanted ${\mathrm{Al}}_{\mathrm{0.8}}{\mathrm{Ga}}_{\mathrm{0.2}}\mathrm{As}$ films oxidized in water vapor (${\mathrm{N}}_{\mathrm{2}}{\mathrm{+H}}_{\mathrm{2}}\mathrm{O},$ $\text{500\hspace{0.17em}°}\mathrm{C}$ ) and annealed (1 h, $\text{700\hspace{0.17em}°}\mathrm{C}$ ) in ${\mathrm{Ar+O}}_{\mathrm{2}}.$ The 40 nm full width at half-maximum (FWHM) spectra are $\text{1.5×}$ broader and $\text{∼10×}$ more intense relative to spectra from unoxidized but annealed samples. The fluorescence decay shows a $\text{τ=7\hspace{0.17em}}\mathrm{ms}$ lifetime, with a faster $\text{τ=1.9\hspace{0.17em}}\mathrm{ms}$ component characteristic of a cooperative upconversion mechanism. The data suggest that ${\mathrm{Al}}_x{\mathrm{Ga}}_{\text{1−x}}\mathrm{As}$ native oxides may provide a suitable host for rare-earth optical activity.