Observation of room temperature photoluminescence in proton irradiated SrTiO3 single crystal

Abstract

We have irradiated SrTiO3 single crystal with 3MeV-proton (H+) beam and found that blue (λ = 420nm)-, green λ = 500nm)- and infrared (λ = 800nm)- frequency photoluminescence(PL)are induced simultaneously at room temperature.TEM and EELS analyses show that an oxygen-deficient amorphous layer is formed at the crystal surface by the proton irradiation. Possible origin of the PL-effect is discussed.