Studies on the preparation, structure, and spectral character of Yb3+, Er3+:YAG nanocrystal powders by sol-gel method

摘要

The Yb3+-Er3+ co-doped YAG nanocrystal powders have been successfully prepared by the simple sol-gel method at a low temperature. The gel was prepared from nitrates of yttrium, aluminum, ytterbium, erbium and citric acid, and was heat-treated at temperatures from 800 to 1000?C. The phase purity and microstructural features of the materials were analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). TEM result shows that the YAG nanocrystal particle size is about 20-50nm. The luminescence spectra for different Yb3+ and Er3+ dopant concentration was obtained at about 1.52um which is in the eyesafe regime where significantly higher pulse energies can be used without damaging human eyes.