Physical Study of Thin Film and Monolithic Nano-Composites [SiO₂: 11P₂O₅: 3 Al₂O₃: (1.2) Er (1.2, 1.8 and 3) Yb] Prepared by Sol Gel Technique, Planar Waveguide and Co-Operative Up-Conversion

Y. Badr, I. K. Battisha, A. M. S. El Nahrawy, M. Kamal

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DOI: 10.4236/njgc.2011.12012                

Abstract

Nano-composite silica-phosphate system (SiO₂- P₂O₅) co-doped with Al₂O₃ as a host material and prepared by sol gel technique in two forms monolith and thin film using multilayer spin-coating method were activated by Er³⁺ and Yb³⁺ ions as in the formula;[SiO₂: 11P₂O₅: 3 Al₂O₃: (1.2) Er: (1.2, 1.8 and 3) Yb]. The prepared samples have been synthesized using tetra-ethyl-orthosilicate (TEOS) and triethyl-phosphate (TEP) as precursor sources of silica and phospho-rus oxides. The microstructure and crystallinity of the prepared samples will be characterized by using x-ray diffraction (XRD) which, imply that the crystallite sizes of [SiO₂: 11P₂O₅: 3 Al₂O₃: (1.2) Er: (1.2) Yb] at 500^oC for both thin film and monolith forms of the prepared samples were found to be equal to 35 and 33 nm, respectively. The refractive index will be evaluated by measuring the normal transmission and specular reflection of the prepared samples. The photolu-minescence properties have analyzed in the visible wavelength range between 500 and 800 nm as a function of sample composition.

Keywords

Sol-gel, Silica-Phosphate, Rare Earth, XRD, Photoluminescence, Waveguide, Co-Operative Up-Conversion.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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