6–10 Jul 2026
University of the Western Cape
Africa/Johannesburg timezone
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Effects of growth atmosphere and post-annealing temperature on Y2SiO5:Ce3+ co-doped Nd3+ thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

7 Jul 2026, 17:20
1h 20m
Great Hall (University of the Western Cape)

Great Hall

University of the Western Cape

Poster Presentation Track A - Physics of Condensed Matter and Materials Poster Session 1

Speaker

Pulane Moleme (UFS)

Description

Y2SiO5 is thermally stable material with favourable optical properties, making it an excellent host for rare-earth dopants. Rare-earth doped Y2SiO5 exhibits narrow optical and spin linewidths, suitable for high-precision optical and quantum applications. Thin films of rare-earth doped Y2SiO5 are attractive due to their compatibility with modern photonic device fabrication. They preserve the strong luminescent characteristics of rare-earth ions. Unlike bulk Y2SiO5 crystals, thin films allow integration with silicon-based photonic platforms. This is critical for device miniaturization and on-chip optical systems. Several deposition methods have been explored for Y2SiO5 thin film fabrication. Chemical vapour deposition and direct liquid injection provide good phase control and crystallinity. Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is widely used for maintaining stoichiometry and controlling films microstructure.

This work investigates the influence of growth atmosphere and annealing temperature on Y2SiO5: Ce3+(1 mol %) co-doped with Nd3+(1 mol %) thin films grown by PLD. Films were deposited under oxygen and argon atmospheres. Post-deposition annealing was carried out at 800 °C and 1200 °C in a hydrogen-containing environment. X-ray diffraction determined the structural properties, while X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed chemical states and composition, including yttrium’s two symmetry sites and oxygen vacancies. Efficient energy transfer from Ce3+ to Nd3+ enabled conversion of visible light to near infrared emission. The films exhibited tuneable near-infrared emission in the range of approximately 800-1500 nm, with oxygen deposited films, annealed at 1200 °C, exhibiting the strongest photoluminescence intensity. These results indicated optimal PLD processing parameters for improved near-infrared emission for this phosphor. These studies demonstrated the potential of these films for near-infrared light emitting diodes and optical communication applications.

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