24 Å and an incidence angle of 1.0° [23]. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements were performed using a laser at 1,527.6 nm with an excitation power of 125 mW at 4 and 300 K. The excitation laser was focused to a spot with a diameter of about 15 μm and an incident angle of 45° through an objective lens. The luminescence from the sample was collected perpendicularly with a different objective lens with a numerical aperture of 0.40 [24]. The PL spectra were detected using a 0.5-m spectrometer and cooled InGaAs detector [23, 25]. Results and selleck compound discussion GIXD profiles of the crystalline structure

after the deposition and annealing of the films are shown in Figure 1. The inset image illustrates the multilayer structure before annealing. The GIXD profile of the sample after deposition shows the presence of Er2O3, Er2Si2O7, and Sc2Si2O7 in the films. After the annealing at 1,250°C, peaks with high intensity are assigned to Er2Si2O7 and Er2SiO5 phases. After annealing, we have only Er2Si2O7 and Er2SiO5 because of buy eFT-508 the diffusion of Er and Sc in different layers and the formation of new polycrystalline mixed compounds assigned to Er x Sc2-x Si2O7 and Er x Sc2-x

SiO5. Moreover, it has been demonstrated that in the Yb-Er disilicate or Y-Er disilicate, Er3+ can be substituted with Y3+, Yb3+, or Tm3+ ions because they have similar ionic radii, selleck chemicals whereas Sc3+ ions have small radii that affect

the crystalline structure of the Er-Sc silicate. Figure 1 Synchrotron radiation GIXD obtained from the samples after deposition and annealing at 1,250°C for 1 h in O 2 . The Joint Committee on Powder Diffraction Standards (JCPDS) numbers correspond to different compounds. The inset shows the fabricated structure. To determine the microscopic structures of the existing phases (Er x Sc2-x SiO5, Er x Sc2-x Si2O7, Er2O3) after deposition, we performed TEM analysis of the cross section coupled to EDS measurements and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) images of the samples after deposition and annealing at 1,250°C. The cross-sectional image in Figure 2a obtained after see more deposition shows different layers of Er2O3, Sc2O3, and SiO2 with a total deposition thickness of around 109 nm. In Figure 2a, the inset SAED image from the Er2O3 layer at the bottom shows multicrystalline rings. The interplanar spacings (d) are about 1.29, 1.32, and 1.52 Å, corresponding respectively to (203), (440), and (20-3) planes, for Er2Si2O7 and 1.32 and 1.52 Å, corresponding respectively to (800) and (444) planes, for Er2O3. The same phases (Er2Si2O7 and Er2O3) are identified in the top layer of Er2O3.