Photoluminescence of terbium-organic complex in aerosol–gel-derived planar waveguides.

This work deals with the low-temperature preparation of optically active silica-based materials. Tb[sup 3+] -doped silica monolithic gels were elaborated at 40 °C. Tb[sup 3+] –SSA-doped SiO[sub 2] –TiO[sub 2] thin films were deposited by an original sol–gel approach, the aerosol–gel process, and heat-treated at 150 °C. Organic complexation of terbium ions was used to improve the active properties of doped silica gels and thin-film samples. Spectroscopic characterisations are reported for these samples. Photoluminescence increase by a factor two was observed for complexation by sulphosalicylic acid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]