Surface morphology and luminescence spectroscopy of thin films (La 0.06 Ga 0.94 ) 2 O 3 :Eu 3+

Thin films of (La0.06Ga0.94)2O3:Eu3+ were obtained by radio-frequency ion-plasma sputtering in an argon atmosphere on amorphous υ-SiO2 substrates. XRD analysis revealed that the freshly deposited films have an amorphous structure, whereas heat treatment in argon leads to the formation of a polycrystalline structure in the films. Atomic force microscopy was used to study the morphology of the film surface and determine the parameters of the grains that form the film surface. The results of studies of the photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence of the studied films are presented. It is shown that thin films ((La0.06Ga0.94)2O3:Eu emit in the blue region of the spectrum upon photoexcitation, and this luminescence is caused by the luminescence of the (La0.06Ga0.94)2O3 matrix. Under cathodic excitation, the activator luminescence of Eu3+ ions caused by 5D0→7FJ (J = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4) electronic transitions is observed. The wavelength of the emission maximum is 613 nm, which corresponds to red luminescence.