SURFACE MORPHOLOGY AND PHOTOLUMINESCENCE CHARACTERISTICS OF Sm-DOPED YVO4 THIN FILMS

Surface morphology and crystallinity of YVO4:Sm3+ thin films have an influence on the photoluminescence characteristics. The YVO4:Sm3+ films have been deposited on Al2O3 (0001) substrates using pulsed laser deposition method. The films were grown at the various substrate temperatures changing from 500 to 700°C. The crystallinity and surface morphology of the films were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), respectively. The results of XRD showed that YVO4:Sm3+ films had a zircon structure and AFM study revealed that the films consisted of homogeneous grains ranging from 100 to 400 nm depending on the deposition conditions. The photoluminescence spectra were measured at room temperature and the emitted radiation was dominated by the red emission peak at 620 nm radiated from the transition of 5D0-7F2. The crystallinity, surface morphology, and photoluminescence spectra of thin-film phosphors were highly dependent on the substrate temperature. The surface roughness and photoluminescence intensity of the films showed similar behavior as a function of substrate temperature.