Temperature dependence studies of Er optical centers in GaN epilayers grown by MOCVD

We report the temperature dependence of Er optical centers in GaN epilayers prepared by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition under the resonant excitation ( 4 I 15/2 → 4 I 9/2 ) excitation using a Ti:Sapphire laser (λ exc = 809 nm). High resolution infrared spectroscopy and temperature dependence measurements of photoluminescence intensity from Er ions in GaN have been performed to identify the crystal filed splitting of the first excited state, 4 I 13/2 . Here, we have employed a simple approach to determine activation energies which are related to the thermal population of electrons from the lowest level to the higher level of the crystal field splitting of the first excited state.