Structure and optical properties of nanocrystalline erbia doped zirconia thin films

Thin films of zirconia doped with erbia in the concentration range of 5 to 15% have been prepared on quartz substrates by an inorganic and aqueous sol -gel method. The films were crystalline, continuous and single phase as dep osited, with a cubic fluorite structure and crystallite sizes of 8-10 nm as shown by X-ray diffraction. The films were annealed to 600 and 1050 degree s C after deposition and found to be transparent in the region between 400 to 1100 nm, the crystalline structure becoming tetragonal at 1050 degrees C with crystallite sizes of around 30-40 nm. The refractive index increased with increase in annealing temperature. There is a peak in the refractive i ndex at a dopant concentration of 10% where it achieves a value of 1.88 at 700 nm. The optical absorption edge shows a similar peak at the same dopant concentration with a value of 5.65 eV.