Photoluminescence Optimization of Er-Doped SiO2 Films Synthesized by Radiofrequency Magnetron Sputtering with Energetic Treatments During and After Deposition

The optical communication technology has been largely attracted by materials doped with rare-earth (RE) elements such as erbium, to be used as active elements in photonic devices: actually, the Er3+ ions transition at 1.54 μm of wavelength falls in the range of minimum transmission loss for silica optical fibers [1]. In the present study we report on the synthesis of Er:SiO2 films by rf magnetron sputtering codeposition, investigating the effects of several preparation parameters in order to optimize the photoluminescence performances of the Er3+ ions embedded in a stoichiometric silica matrix. Here we report on the main results of the research; the detailed investigation is reported in [2].