Growth and photoluminescence of epitaxial CeO2 film on Si (111) substrate

A CeO2 film with a thickness of about 80nm was deposited by a mass-analysed low-energy dual ion beam deposition technique on an Si(111) substrate. Ref lection high-energy electron diffraction and x-ray diffraction measurements showed that the film is a single crystal. The tetravalent state of Ce in t he film was confirmed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements, ind icating that stoichiometric CeO2 was formed. Violet/blue light emission (37 9.5 nm) was observed at room temperature, which may be tentatively explaine d by charge transitions from the 4f band to the valence band of CeO2.