There is considerable interest in Er-doped silica-based materials with photosensitive properties for lasing and photorefractive applications. Tin doping has been recently found to induce strong and stable photosensitivity in silica glass. In this work, Er co-doped Sn-doped silica samples are obtained by sol-gel method by hydrolysis and condensation of TEOS and tin dibutyl diacetate, Er(NO₃)₃, or Er(CH₃COO)₃ as dopant precursors. Samples with Er content ranging between 0.1 and 1 mol% are investigated. Sn doping (0.4 mol%) is employed to induce photorefractivity properties in the glassy host. Time resolved photoluminescence, optical absorption and refractive index measurements are carried out and analyzed as a function of the Er content. The specific effects of Er content and Sn doping on the rare earth emission efficiency and photosensitivity of the glass are discussed. In particular it is shown that the Er emission shows the typical features of Er doped sol gel silica and the strong photosensitivity induced by tin doping is not affected by rare earth ions.

Date Published: 5 April 2002
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 4645, Rare-Earth-Doped Materials and Devices VI, (5 April 2002); doi: 10.1117/12.461661

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 4645:
Rare-Earth-Doped Materials and Devices VI
Shibin Jiang; Robert W. Keys, Editor(s)