Tuning the Er³⁺ sensitization by Si nanoparticles in nanostructured as-grown Al₂ O₃ films

Nanostructured films consisting of single Si nanoparticles (NPs) and Er³⁺ ions layers separated by nanometer-scale Al₂ O ₃ layers of controlled thickness have been prepared in order to tune the energy transfer between Si NPs and Er³⁺ ions. The amorphous Si NPs with an effective diameter of ∼4.5 nm are formed during growth and are able to sensitize the Er³⁺ ions efficiently with no postannealing treatments. The characteristic distance for energy transfer from Si NPs to Er³⁺ ions in Al₂ O₃ is found to be in the 1 nm range. It is shown that in the nanostructured films, it is possible to achieve an optimized configuration in which almost all the Er³⁺ ions have the potential to be excited by the Si NPs. This result stresses the importance of controlling the dopant distribution at the nanoscale to achieve improved device performance.