Luminescence enhancement in AlN(Er) by hydrogenation

Abstract

Room-temperature ${\mathrm{Er}}^{\mathrm{3+}}$ photoluminescence increases of a factor of 5 are observed for AlN(Er) samples treated in a ${}^2\mathrm{H}$ plasma at 200 °C for 30 min. The atomic deuterium passivates defects in the AlN, which normally provide alternative carrier recombination routes. Postdeuteration annealing at 300 °C for 20 min removes the luminescence enhancement by depassivating the nonradiative centers. The AlN(Er) provides a high degree of resistance to thermal quenching of luminescence as a function of temperature because of its wide band gap (6.2 eV), and hydrogenation is a simple method for maximizing the optical output in this materials system.