Erbium oxide nanoparticles can be formed by applying ultrasound (20 kHz, 29 W·cm−2) in the presence of multiwall carbon nanotubes.

Each ultrasonically formed erbium oxide exhibits photoluminescence in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum under excitation of wavelength 379 nm in water.

[8] EDFAs, which utilize erbium ions, provide low noise and high gain, making them ideal for long-distance signal transmission and high-resolution measurements in interferometry.

[10] The photoluminescence property of erbium oxide nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes makes them useful in biomedical applications.

For example, erbium oxide nanoparticles can be surface modified for distribution into aqueous and non-aqueous media for bioimaging.

Impure erbium(III) oxide was isolated by Carl Gustaf Mosander in 1843, and first obtained in pure form in 1905 by Georges Urbain and Charles James.