Photoluminescence of sol-gel hybrid films doped with erbium tris 8-hydroxyquinoline

Abstract

Erbium tris 8-hydroxyquinoline (ErQ) was successfully incorporated into the sol-gel hybrid material (HYBRIMER) synthesized by using methyltriethoxysilane, vinyltriethoxysilane, and phenyltrimethoxysilane even though it has poor solubility in general organic solvent. The composition and microstructure of the HYBRIMER film doped with ErQ was analyzed using Rutherford backscattering method and scanning electron microscope. The refractive index of the HYBRIMER film was also investigated with ErQ concentration. The HYBRIMER film doped with ErQ showed a clear photoluminescence (PL) at 1.5 mu m. PL intensity increased with ErQ concentration without concentration quenching until Er/Si ratio reached 5 at%.