Influence of SnO2 concentration on the structure and optical properties of Erbium doped SiO2-SnO2 ceramic glass thinfilms

Abstract

In this work, (100-x)SiO₂-xSnO₂ (with x = 10, 20 and 30% mol) doped with 1mol% Er³⁺ nanocomposite thin films were prepared by sol-gel method. The effect of SnO₂ concentration in the structure and the distribution of erbium ions in ceramic-glass structure were investigated by FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). SnO₂ nanoparticles with size about 50nm were formed in films heat-treated at 1000^oC. Photoluminescence and 3D spectroscopies show that there is the energy transfer from SnO₂ nanocrystal to erbium ions and the ions exist in amorphous environment and in the nanoparticles.