International audienc

Crystalline erbium(Er)-doped zinc oxide thin films have been grown by pulsed-laser deposition and were analyzed by the complementary use of Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, x-ray diffraction analysis, atomic force microscopy, and photoluminescence. The composition, structure, and surface morphology of films were studied, as a function of the growth conditions (temperature from 300 °C to 750 °C and oxygen pressure from 10−6 to 0.5 mbar) and Er-doping rate, and were correlated to the emission spectroscopy of Er in the infrared domain. While these studies lead to the determination of optimal conditions for the growth of high crystalline quality films, results of photoluminescence experiments show that the insertion of Er ions in the ZnO matrix does not follow a simple pattern. The Er ions are incorporated from two pathways, one population is found inside the crystallites and another one at the grain boundaries, as a consequence of the differences in valence and ionic radius of Zn and Er.

Thin films of anthracene (C14H10) have been grown by matrix-assisted pulsed-laser evaporation. Frozen solutions of 2 wt% anthracene (solute) in ortho-xylene or in chloroform were used as targets and were irradiated by a frequency-quadrupled Nd:YAG laser (266 nm). The deposited films were studied by the complementary use of infrared absorption and photoluminescence emission. The vibrational bands and fluorescence emission of bulk anthracene were clearly identified in the films. This means that the organic molecules were not modified by photochemical reactions during the laser irradiations, despite the strong absorption of anthracene at 266 nm. Among the growth parameters, the laser fluence was found to be critical in order to avoid the fragmentation of the anthracene molecules. The results show that matrix-assisted pulsed-laser evaporation is suitable for growing thin films of organic materials even if they absorb at the irradiating wavelength