Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
The microstructural and luminescence properties of europium doped yttrium oxide (Y2O3:Eu) thin films deposited by metallorganic chemical vapor deposition are presented in this work. It was found that surface morphology, crystallinity and photoluminescent emission properties are strongly dependent on substrate temperature during deposition. The depositions were carried out in a stainless steel chamber using yttrium and europium 2,2,6,6,-tetramethyl–3,5-heptanedionates as volatile precursors and O2 as the reactant gas. Post-annealing increased the crystallite size and decreased the lattice parameter, resulting in an increased photoluminescent emission intensity.