SnO2:Er 3+ Glass-Ceramic Monoliths
Résumé
Glass photonics is a key technology crucial for the development of systems largely used in the everyday life from Information and Communication Technology to Health and Biology, Structural Engineering, and Environment Monitoring Systems. The research in the field is continuously addressed in the enhancement and optimization of optical, mechanical, and thermal properties of the systems as well as in the integration of several functionalities on a single platform. In this context transparent glass-ceramics can play a useful role thanks to their specific properties. Nanocrystals embedded in a glass matrix form two-phase materials and the respective composition and volume fractions of crystalline and amorphous phase determine the properties of the glass-ceramic. When the nanocrystal is doped with rare earth ions, the presence of the local crystalline environment promotes high absorption and emission cross sections, reduction of the non-radiative relaxation thanks to the lower phonon cutoff energy and tailoring of the ion-ion interaction by the control of the rare earth ion partition. In this communication, we focus the attention on SiO 2-SnO 2 transparent glass-ceramics that have demonstrated to be a very attractive material [1],[2]. In this communication we will highlights some recent outcomes obtained by our consortium in Er 3+ activated SiO 2-SnO 2 glass-ceramic monoliths and planar waveguides obtained by sol-gel routes.