Better understanding of the role of SiO2, P2O5 and Al2O3 on the spectroscopic properties of Yb3+ doped silica sol-gel glasses

• Published in: Journal of non-crystalline solids 2018-02, Vol.482, p.46-51
• Main Authors: Glorieux, Benoit, Salminen, Turkka, Massera, Jonathan, Lastusaari, Mika, Petit, Laeticia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Silica glass; Sol-gel; Spectroscopic properties; Yb3 + doping
• ISSN: 0022-3093; 1873-4812
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2017.12.021

Yb3+ doped silica sol-gel glass powders were prepared with different concentrations of SiO2, Al2O3 and P2O5 in order to understand the impact of the glass composition on the Yb3+ emission properties. In this paper, we clearly show that not only the Al/P ratio but also the SiO2 content have an impact on the Yb3+ spectroscopic properties. Our results provide new insight on the real impact of the composition on the spectroscopic properties of Yb3+ doped sol-gels: we demonstrate that an increase in the Al2O3 content at the expense of P2O5 leads to an increase in the intensity of the emission at 1000nm of the Yb3+ ions whereas an increase in the SiO2 content decreases it. We clearly showed that the inexpensive sol-gel approach can be easily used when investigating new Yb3+ doped silica glasses. •Yb3+ doped sol-gels with different concentrations of SiO2, Al2O3 and P2O5 were fabricated.•The real effect of the Al2O3/P2O5 ratio on the Yb3+ luminescence properties is discussed.•An increase in the SiO2 content decreases the Yb3+ emission at 1μm.•An increase in the Al2O3 content at the expense of P2O5 increases the emission at 1μm.•The sol-gel approach can be used when investigating new Yb3+ doped silica glass composition.