Investigation on structure and luminescence properties of Yb3+-doped silica materials

In this study, the structure and luminescence properties of Yb3+-doped silica materials were investigated by theoretical and experimental methods. The local structure model of Yb3+-doped silica, wherein an Yb3+ ion bonds to the non-bridging oxygen ion outside the ring structure of silica substrate, was established by Gaussian-09 software. Its structural parameters, including Raman spectrum and infrared spectrum, were calculated by density functional theory. The absorption spectrum, and fluorescence spectrum were calculated by time dependent-density functional theory. Meanwhile, Yb3+-doped silica samples were prepared by the sol-gel method using tetraethoxysilane and ytterbium nitrate pentahydrate as precursors. The measured spectra showed that the calculated and experimental results are in good agreement. The measured strong emission at 975 nm with lifetime 774 μs is corresponding to a calculated value of 997 nm.