Cathodoluminescent properties of pulsed-laser-deposited Eu-activatedY2O3epitaxial films

The growth, structural and cathodoluminescent (CL) properties of 4 wt. % europium-doped yttrium oxide $\left({\mathrm{E}\mathrm{u}:\mathrm{Y}}_2{\mathrm{O}}_3\right)$ thin films are reported. The ${\mathrm{E}\mathrm{u}:\mathrm{Y}}_2{\mathrm{O}}_3$ films were grown in situ using a pulsed laser deposition technique. Our results show that ${\mathrm{E}\mathrm{u}:\mathrm{Y}}_2{\mathrm{O}}_3$ films can grow epitaxially on $\mathrm{}\left(100\right)\mathrm{}{\mathrm{LaAlO}}_3$ substrates under optimized deposition parameters. The epitaxial growth of ${\mathrm{E}\mathrm{u}:\mathrm{Y}}_2{\mathrm{O}}_3$ films on ${\mathrm{LaAlO}}_3,$ which has a lattice mismatch of ∼60%, is explained by matching of the atom positions in the lattices of the film and the substrate after a rotation. CL data from these films are consistent with highly crystalline ${\mathrm{E}\mathrm{u}:\mathrm{Y}}_2{\mathrm{O}}_3$ films with an intense CL emission at 611 nm.