Morphological, structural and room temperature optical properties of ZnO:Eu layers deposited by RF-Sputtering

The structural and optical properties of ZnO:Eu thin films deposited on silicon and glass substrates by the magnetron sputtering method have been studied by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, Auger electron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and photoluminescence measurements. Intense red emission of Eu3+ dopant in ZnO films is issued by the band-to-band excitation and energy transfer from the host ZnO to europium ions.