We present the details of the sol-gel processing used to realize inverse silica opal,where the silica was activated with 0.3 mol% of Er3+ ions. The template(direct opal) was obtained assembling polystyrene spheres of ...We present the details of the sol-gel processing used to realize inverse silica opal,where the silica was activated with 0.3 mol% of Er3+ ions. The template(direct opal) was obtained assembling polystyrene spheres of the dimensions of 260 nm by means of a vertical deposition technique. The Er3+-activated silica inverse opal was obtained infiltrating,into the void of the template,the silica sol doped with Er3+ ions and subsequently removing the polystyrene spheres by means of calcinations. Scanning electron microscope showed that the inverse opals possess a fcc structure with a air hollows of about 210 nm and a photonic band gap,in the visible range,was observed from reflectance measurements. Spectroscopic properties of Er3+-activated silica inverse opal were investigated by luminescence spectroscopy,where,upon excitation at 514.5 nm,an emission of 4I13/2 → 4I15/2 of Er3+ ions transition with a 21 nm bandwidth was observed. Moreover the 4I13/2 level decay curve presents a single-exponential profile,with a measured lifetime of 18 ms,corresponding a high quantum efficiency of the system.展开更多
基金The work has been supported by the MIUR-FIRB RBNE012N3X,MIUR PRIN, PAT FAPVU 2004-2006,GRICES-CNR.
文摘We present the details of the sol-gel processing used to realize inverse silica opal,where the silica was activated with 0.3 mol% of Er3+ ions. The template(direct opal) was obtained assembling polystyrene spheres of the dimensions of 260 nm by means of a vertical deposition technique. The Er3+-activated silica inverse opal was obtained infiltrating,into the void of the template,the silica sol doped with Er3+ ions and subsequently removing the polystyrene spheres by means of calcinations. Scanning electron microscope showed that the inverse opals possess a fcc structure with a air hollows of about 210 nm and a photonic band gap,in the visible range,was observed from reflectance measurements. Spectroscopic properties of Er3+-activated silica inverse opal were investigated by luminescence spectroscopy,where,upon excitation at 514.5 nm,an emission of 4I13/2 → 4I15/2 of Er3+ ions transition with a 21 nm bandwidth was observed. Moreover the 4I13/2 level decay curve presents a single-exponential profile,with a measured lifetime of 18 ms,corresponding a high quantum efficiency of the system.