Er3+-doped SiO2-TeO2-ZnO-Na2O thin film fabricated by ultrafast laser plasma doping under different ambient atmospheres

Er3+-ions doped SiO2-ZnO-Na2O thin films were fabricated using ultrafast laser plasma doping (ULPD) techniques under different ambient atmospheres; vacuum, nitrogen, oxygen and argon gas. The thickness of the layer produced depends on the ambient atmosphere during fabrication. The layer fabricated under a vacuum is the thinnest among all of the samples. In addition, the surface layer for the sample fabricated under a vacuum environment seems to be relatively smoother compared with those of the others. XRD patterns show that all samples are in a mixed amorphous-crystalline phase. All the Raman spectra exhibited a similar pattern, except for the intensity of the Si peak which depended on the thickness of the obtained layer. The PL intensity for each sample corresponds to the amount of Er3+ ions embedded in the doped layer. However, all samples still exhibited silicate-based characteristics, indicating nitrogen in Si3N4 was lost in the form of nitrogen gas during fabrication.