Abstract

We report the precipitation of ZnO nanocrystals, Ag-clusters, and Ag nanoparticles in Ag/Er/Yb doped borate glasses by furnace annealing and CO₂ laser annealing. The XRD analysis revealed the precipitation of ZnO and Ag phases. The absorption spectra, the TEM and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) revealed the incorporation of Er and Yb ions into ZnO nanocrystals formed by a laser technique and showed the surface plasmon band of Ag nanoparticles. The down-converted blue emission intensity of Er³⁺ ions obtained under 365 nm excitation was enhanced by more than a hundred times in the glass treated by furnace annealing, mainly due to the energy transfer from Ag-clusters. Moreover, we discussed the contribution of Ag nanoparticles and defects to emission characteristics in the glasses treated by two annealing techniques. Up-conversion emissions of the Er³⁺ ions under 980 nm excitation were enhanced due to the incorporation of Er³⁺ and Yb³⁺ ions into ZnO nanocrystals after thermal treatments.

© 2019 Optical Society of Korea

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