| Nanotechnology and photonic technology have seen rapid and astounding growth in the last 10 years. Many new properties and applications have been developed in the respective fields. In recent years some nanotechnology has been integrated into the field of photonics. In this study nano and metastable processing of silicate glasses for pholonic applications are examined. Nanopowders of SiO2 were fabricated. These powders were characterized by BET gas adsorption, thermogravimetric analysis, X-Ray Diffraction, and Scanning Electron Microscopy. Optimization of SiO2 nanopowder fabrication parameters proved invaluable since the same parameters were used for multicomponent compositions of Al2O3/SiO2/Er2O 3. Optimization of parameters included O2 flow rate, H 2 flow rates, burner distance, and precursor flow rate. Precursor flow rate, was found to be critical to the fabrication of high quality nanopowders. Multicomponent compositions were investigated for 1.55 μm emission from Er3+. Powders with average particle sizes of 9 nm were synthesized.; In a complementary study, compositions of Al2O3/SiO 2/Er2O3 powders were hatched and spray dried for plasma melt quenching. These powders with very high concentrations of Er 2O3 were superheated in a plasma then quickly quenched into a water bath. Various compositions were prepared with different codoping ratios of Al2O3/Er2O3. Lifetime and fluorescence data are reported for emission at 1.55 um. Furthermore, green upconversion was observed with Yb/Er codoping. All compositions of plasma spray powders exhibited low multiexponential decay rates for the 4 I13/2 metastable state. Beat treatments of the powders up to 1400°C crystallized a Er2Si2O7 monoclinic pyrochlore structure. Upon crystallization the crystalline phase exhibited increased lifetimes of 7 ms up from <1 ms. Ordering of Er 3+ atoms is seen as the mechanism for increase in lifetime.; This investigation has provided insight into the potential of metastable processing of heavily doped rare earth oxide nanopowders for photonic applications. Rare earth concentrations have been achieved which are 1 to 2 orders of magnitude higher then possible by more conventional synthesis methods. These findings should provide the incentive for follow-up research to further advance and exploit nanotechnology for next generation optical materials and devices. |
