Intense Red Catho- and Photoluminescence from 200 nm Thick Samarium Doped Amorphous AlN Thin Films

Samarium (Sm) doped aluminum nitride (AlN) thin films are deposited on silicon (100) substrates at 77 K by rf magnetron sputtering method. Thick films of 200 nm are grown at 100–200 watts RF power and 5–8 m Torr nitrogen, using a metal target of Al with Sm. X-ray diffraction results show that films are amorphous. Cathodoluminescence (CL) studies are performed and four peaks are observed in Sm at 564, 600, 648, and 707 nm as a result of(4)G(5/2) → (6)H(5/2),(4)G(5/2) → (6)H(7/2),(4)G(5/2) → (6)H(9/2), and(4)G(5/2) → (6)H(11/2)transitions. Photoluminescence (PL) provides dominant peaks at 600 and 707 nm while CL gives the intense peaks at 600 nm and 648 nm, respectively. Films are thermally activated at 1,200 K for half an hour in a nitrogen atmosphere. Thermal activation enhances the intensity of luminescence.