Liquid phase epitaxy growth and structural characterization of highly-doped Er3+:LiYF4 thin films

Identifier:  imarina:9280735

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/imarina9280735

Authors:  Basyrova, L; Brasse, G; Loiko, P; Grygiel, C; Sol, RM; Aguil, M; Diaz, F; Mateos, X; Benayad, A; Doualan, JL; Camy, P

Abstract:
Single-crystalline layers of LiYF4, singly doped with Er3+ ions and codoped with Er3+,Gd3+ ions are grown on (001) oriented undoped bulk LiYF4 substrates by Liquid Phase Epitaxy using LiF as a solvent. For the starting composition 73 LiF – 27 REF3 mol% (RE = Y, Er, Gd), the onset of crystallization is about 746 °C. The effect of apparent supercooling on the growth behavior is studied indicating an optimum value of 0.5 °C. Layers of 30–90 μm in thickness are obtained corresponding to a growth rate of 0.8–1.6 ± 0.5 μm/min. The morphology, structure and composition of the layers are studied. The layers exhibit tetragonal structure (sp. gr. I41/a) and small lattice mismatch with respect to the substrate. The segregation coefficient for Er3+ ions is close to unity. Intense mid-infrared luminescence of Er3+ ions at ∼2.8 μm is observed from the layers, which, together with the waveguiding properties, indicates their suitability for waveguide lasers.