Large-scale fabrication of single-phase Er2SiO5 nanocrystal aggregates using Si nanowires

Abstract

Single-phase Er2SiO5 nanocrystal aggregates were produced on a large scale using Si nanowire (Si-NW) arrays as templates. A dense array of Si-NWs was grown by vapor-liquid-solid mechanism using Au catalyst on Si (111) substrate. Afterwards, ErCl3 center dot 6H(2)O dissolved ethanol solution was spin coated and annealed first at 900 degrees C for 4 min in a flowing N-2/O-2 environment and then at 1200 degrees C in a flowing Ar environment for 3 min. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, and high-resolution transmission electron microscope measurements indicate that due to the use of Si-NWs, such a short annealing procedure is sufficient to completely transform the Er-coated Si-NWs into a thick, large-area aggregate of pure, single-phase to Er2SiO5 oxyorthosilicate nanocrystals. The crystalline nature of Er2SiO5 film and the loose nature of the aggregate result in an atomlike Er3+ spectrum with a very narrow luminescence linewidth at 1.53 mu m, which together with a complete lack of temperature quenching of Er3+ luminescence and a high Er concentration indicate a viability of this method to fabricate efficient, high-gain Si-based optical material for Si photonics.