RBS characterization of Al 2 O 3 films doped with Ce and Mn R. Martı ´nez-Martı ´nez a , J. Rickards b, * , M. Garcı ´a-Hipo ´ lito a , R. Trejo-Luna b , E. Martı ´nez-Sa ´nchez a , O. A ´ lvarez-Fregoso a , F. Ramos-Brito a , C. Falcony c a Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Auto ´ noma de Me ´xico, Ap. Postal 20360, Me ´xico, D.F. 04510, Mexico b Instituto de Fı ´sica, Universidad Nacional Auto ´ noma de Me ´xico, Ap. Postal 20364, Me ´xico, D.F. 01000, Mexico c Departamento de Fı ´sica, CINVESTAV, Instituto Polite ´ cnico Nacional, Ap. Postal 14740, Me ´xico, D.F. 07000, Mexico Available online 24 August 2005 Abstract Rutherford backscattering (RBS) with 4 He energies from 2 to 6 MeV has been used to study the properties of thin amorphous photoluminescent Al 2 O 3 :Ce,Mn films grown by spray pyrolysis on Corning 7059 glass substrates. The source solutions were AlCl 3 , CeCl 3 and MnCl 2 dissolved in deionized water. Different molar concentrations (Ce 10%; Mn 1%, 3%, 5%, 7% and 10%) were investigated under the same deposition conditions at a substrate temperature of 300 °C. The RBS spectra show a homogeneous depth profile of both Ce and Mn within the films, and the measured quantities are consistent with the original solution concentrations. An important amount of Cl, which plays a signifi- cant role in luminescent properties, was detected, in both the doped and undoped samples. Ó 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. PACS: 78.60.b Keywords: RBS; Aluminum oxide; Ce; Mn; Luminescence 1. Introduction The spray pyrolysis process involves the spra- ying of an aqueous solution of soluble salts of the desired compounds onto a previously heated substrate, to induce a pyrolytic reaction. The equipment is simple, inexpensive and of easy oper- ation, and does not require expensive vacuum sys- tems [1]. This technique is effective for the synthesis of materials in the form of powders and films [2]. Al 2 O 3 is an attractive host lattice for rare earth optical activators, due to its good 0168-583X/$ - see front matter Ó 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.nimb.2005.07.054 * Corresponding author. Tel.: +55 5622 5065; fax: +55 5622 5009. E-mail address: rickards@fisica.unam.mx (J. Rickards). Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 241 (2005) 450–453 www.elsevier.com/locate/nimb