Photoluminescence and structural characterization of MeV erbium-implanted silica glass

Suprasil glass (amorphous SiO2) has been implanted with 2.9 MeV Er ions at fluences of 3.4x1015 and 3.4x1016 ions/cm2. Photoluminescence spectra of implanted samples show a clear luminescent transition around λ=1.54 μm, corresponding to an intra-4f transition of Er3+. Fluorescence decay times are in the range 1-8 ms, depending on implantation fluence and annealing treatment. UV absorption and IR reflection spectroscopy are employed to characterize beam-induced defects in the silica network. The results indicate that defects in the silica network play an important role in the energy transfer processes in the Er:silica system. (orig.)