摘要： Rare earth (RE) ions doped in Si-based materials, compatible with Si technology, are promising compounds with regards to optical communication and energy conversion. In this article, we show the emission properties of Nd-doped Si-rich Si oxynitride (Nd-SRSON) ?lms, and their dependence on the dangling bond density and the nature of the sensitizer. These ?lms were prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering and post-annealing. The ?lm composition, microstructure, and emission properties were investigated as a function of deposition parameters and annealing temperatures. Both Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ellipsometry spectroscopy measurements have con?rmed that the sample composition (Si/N ratio) can be carefully tuned by varying the ratio of reactive nitrogen to argon in the sputtering plasma. Moreover, FTIR and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements demonstrate the existence of both nitrogen and oxygen dangling bonds (N? and O?) in as-deposited samples. These dangling bonds were passivated during annealing. Under non-resonant excitation at 488 nm, the ?lms exhibit a signi?cant photoluminescence (PL) signal from Nd3+ ions demonstrating the occurrence of an effective sensitization of Nd3+ ions in the host matrix. Both PL excitation and ellipsometry results (the energy band gap from new amorphous model) exclude the sensitization by an exciton with energy over the band gap, whereas the presence of Si agglomerates, at the atomic scale, have been identi?ed as effective sensitizers towards Nd3+ ions. This work not only provides knowledge to optimize Si-based materials for favorable emission properties, but also, presents a universal methodology to investigate the nature of sensitizers for RE emitters. This allows one to ?nd correlations between composition, microstructure, and emission properties.