Europium doped gallium oxide nanostructures for room temperature luminescent photonic devices

Cathodoluminescence and photoluminescence techniques have been used to investigate room temperature light emission from β-Ga₂O₃:Eu nanostructures, which were obtained by two methods. In one of them, a mixture of Ga₂O₃/Eu₂O₃ powders was used as precursor material and annealed under an argon flow. In the other one, undoped β-Ga₂O₃ nanostructures were first obtained by thermal oxidation of metallic gallium and europium was subsequently incorporated by a diffusion process. Room temperature luminescence at 610 nm due to Eu³⁺ intraionic transitions from β-Ga₂O₃:Eu has been observed. Waveguiding of this red emitted light through the structures was shown.