Er-Doped Silica Glass Films Prepared by rf-Cosputtering Deposition: a Cathodoluminescence Study on the Thermal Annealing Behaviour

Erbium-doped silica glass has been drawing a great interest in the last years for its application in optical device technology [1–5]. In general, the optical response of the rare-earth in glass may depend critically on several factors, such as the local chemical environment, the presence and nature of glass network defects, as well as on the presence, nature, proximity and size of multimers or nanoclusters. In this paper, preliminary experimental results are presented on defect evolution in Er:SiO2 films prepared by an rfcosputtering deposition technique, and then annealed in the 100–1200 °C range.