Cost-effective ZnO–Eu 3+ films with efficient energy transfer between host and dopant

The present work focuses on the deposition of Europium (Eu 3+ ) incorporated zinc oxide (ZnO) film by a cost effective chemical solution deposition method. ZnO film with varying concentration of Eu 3+ ions (2, 3 and 4 atomic percent) were deposited and characterized using different techniques like X-ray diffractogram (XRD), scanning electron microscopy. XRD studies revealed that highly c-axis oriented ZnO films without showing any segregation of europium oxide were obtained at 650 °C. The optical properties were determined using UV–visible spectrophotometry and photoluminescence measurements. UB-visible spectroscopy revealed that Eu 3+ doping shifted optical band gap with increase in transparency of the films. The Eu 3+ doped film showed intense emission at 614 nm which was attributed to the defect emission from ZnO that gets trapped by Eu 3+ ions ultimately leading to 7 F 2 to 5 D 0 transition in Eu 3+ .