Epitaxially-Grown Europium-Doped Barium Titanate Films on Various Substrates for Red Emission

Intense red photoluminescence under ultraviolet excitation was observed in epitaxially-grown europium-doped perovskite BaTiO3 thin films deposited on the SrTiO3 (100), MgO (100) and sapphire (0001) substrates using metal carboxylate complexes. Precursor films prepared by spin coating were pyrolyzed at 250 °C for 120 min in argon, followed by final annealing at 850 °C for 60 min in argon. Crystallinity and epitaxy of the films were analyzed by X-ray diffraction θ-2θ scan and pole-figure analysis. Photoluminescence of the thin films at room temperature under 254 nm was confirmed by a fluorescent spectrophotometer. The obtained epitaxial BaTiO3 thin films on the SrTiO3 (100) and MgO (100) substrates show an intense red-emission lines at 615 nm corresponding to the (5)D0 --> (7)F2 transitions on Eu(3+) with broad bands at 595 and 650 nm.