Effect of the crystal structure on the optical properties and Ag sensitization of Tb3+/Yb3+ ions in silica-zirconia glasses and glass-ceramics

• The role of the material structure in the energy transfer between Ag and Tb3+/Yb3+ ions is studied in silica-soda-zirconia sol-gel glasses and glass-ceramics. The preparation of Tb3+ and Yb3+ doped silica-soda-zirconia layers was carried out by sol-gel and dip-coating, followed by thermal annealing. The precipitation of zirconia nanocrystals was obtained by controlling the annealing temperature: from a full amorphous glass at 700 °C into a glass-ceramic at 1000 °C. A different crystalline structure of zirconia nanocrystals, tetragonal or cubic, was controlled by the rare-earth doping and investigated in relation to the Tb3+/Yb3+ optical properties. Moreover, Ag codoping was introduced by ion-exchange, obtaining a significant photoluminescence enhancement, both in the intensity and in the broadness of the excitation band, covering the whole UV region and part of the violet-blue region. Ag-sensitized Tb3+/Yb3+ doped silica-soda-zirconia glass-ceramics were attested to be potential candidates for energy-related applications, such as spectral conversion layers for solar cells, lasers and light-emitting devices (LEDs) in the visible and NIR spectral regions.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Kemi -- Fysikalisk kemi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Chemical Sciences -- Physical Chemistry (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Atom- och molekylfysik och optik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Sol-gel

Glass-ceramics

Tb3+/Yb3+ ions

Ag sensitizers

Cubic and tetragonal zirconia

Experimentell fysik

Experimental Physics

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)