Electronic energy levels of Er3+ in ZnInGaS4:Er3+ single crystal and its site symmetry

ZnInGaS4 and ZnInGaS4:Er3+ single crystals were grown using the CTR technique. The single crystals grown have a layered crystal structure. These compounds have both a direct and an indirect energy gap. Eight distinctive emission peaks of the ZnInGaS4:Er3+ single crystal were observed at 10 K. These photoluminescence peaks were attributed to the radioactive decay among the 4f split electron energy levels of the Er3+ ions that occupy the C-2v site symmetry of the ZnInGaS4 single crystal host lattice. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(00)00109-2].