Erbium doped materials/structures are considered to be the pivotal systems in the field of photonics due to their wide range of applications from optical communication through several integrated circuits to sensors. Though various materials doped with erbium ions are suggested as potential candidates for these applications, the effect of matrices and local structures on the optical properties of erbium ions is still lacking. To derive this correlation, we have doped erbium ions in different matrices (thus creating various global/local structures) and characterized using optical absorption, photoluminescence, Raman scattering and x-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS).
In the first part of the talk I will be dealing with the effect of matrix and local structure on optical properties of erbium ions in zinc-lead tellurite glasses. All the transition intensities of erbium ions were found to decrease for increasing PbO/ZnO. This decrease in intensity of each optical transition has been attributed to the change in the asymmetric crystal field using Raman analysis and Judd-Ofelt theory. Furthermore, local structural parameters around erbium ions were evaluated for all the glasses.
In the second part, I will present the importance of preparation approaches on local structure around erbium ions in silica-hafnia films and its influence on the attenuation loss of light transmission. Structural parameters around erbium ions were estimated to be similar irrespective of the preparation pathway and consequently low attenuation loss of the hybrid films has been clarified.
NIMBE/LIONS, CEA de Saclay