TITLE:
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
AUTHORS:
Y. Badr, I. K. Battisha, A. M. S. El Nahrawy, M. Kamal
KEYWORDS:
Sol-gel, Silica-Phosphate, Rare Earth, XRD, Photoluminescence, Waveguide, Co-Operative Up-Conversion.
JOURNAL NAME:
New Journal of Glass and Ceramics,
Vol.1 No.2,
July
21,
2011
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 500oC 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.