• Energy Research

In this paper, the investigation of energy transfer efficiency in Tb3+-Yb3+ co-doped SiO2-HfO2 glass and glassceramic waveguides is presented. Cooperative energy transfer between these two ions allows to cut one UV or 488 nm photon in two 980 nm photons and could have important applications in improving the performance of photovoltaic solar cells. Thin films with different molar concentrations of rare earths, up to a total concentration of 21%, were prepared by a sol-gel route, using dip-coating deposition technique on SiO2 substrates. The ratio between Yb3+ and Tb3+ ions in all the prepared thin films is constant and equal to 4. The energy transfer between Tb3+ and Yb3+ ions in glass and glass-ceramic waveguides shows the higher efficiency for glassceramic with a maximum quantum transfer efficiency of about 190% for the sample containing 19% of rare earths.

Silica-tin dioxide thin films doped with Er3+ ions were fabricated and investigated. Different parameters such as heat-treatment temperatures, molar concentrations of SnO2 as well as Er3+ ions concentration were changed in order to obtain the best properties of presented thin films. Using several techniques, thin films were characterized and proved to be crack-free, water-free and smooth after a heat-treatment at 1200 °C. Aiming to application in optics, the transparency of thin films was also evidenced by transmission spectra. Based on the photoluminescence measurements, the mechanism of energy transfer from SnO2 nanocrystals to Er3+ ions was examined and discussed.

The efficiency of photovoltaic solar cells is strongly related to the spectral absorption and photo-conversion properties of the cell's active material, which does not exploit the whole broadband solar spectrum. This mismatch between the spectrum of the solar light and the wavelength dependent cell's response can be partially overcome by using luminescent conversion layers in front or in the back of the solar cell. In this paper, the investigation of Tb3+-Yb3+ co-doped SiO2-HfO2 glass and glass-ceramic waveguides is presented. Due to a down-conversion process based on cooperative energy transfer between one Tb3+ ion and two Yb3+ ions, a blue photon at 488 nm can be divided in two NIR photons at 980 nm. Films with different molar concentrations of rare earths, up to a total amount of [Tb + Yb] = 15%, were prepared by a sol-gel route, using dip-coating deposition on SiO2 substrates. For all the films, the molar ratio [Yb]/[Tb] was taken equal to 4. The comparison of the energy-transfer efficiency between Tb3+ and Yb3+ ions in the glass and in the glass-ceramic materials demonstrated the higher performance of the glass-ceramic, with a maximum quantum transfer efficiency of 179% for the highest rare earth doping concentration. Moreover, experimental results and comparison with proper rate equations modelling showed a linear dependence of the photoluminescence emission intensity for the Yb3+ ions 2F5/2 -> 2F7/2 transition at 980 nm on the excitation power, indicating a direct transfer process from Tb3+ to Yb3+ ions. The reported waveguides could find applications not only as downconverting filters in transmission but also as efficient solar concentrators in the near-IR spectral region.

We describe the synthesis of Pr3+/Yb3+ co-doped and Pr3+-doped SiO2-Nb2O5 nanocomposites; we also investigate energy transfer processes between the doping ions, which involve UV-Vis to infrared energy conversion. The emission spectra in the near infrared (NIR) region, 900-1650 nm, indicated energy transfer from Pr3+ to Yb3+ upon blue excitation of the Pr3+ ions. UV charge transfer band excitation elicited efficient Yb3+ emission at about 1.0 mu m. The nanocomposite co-doped with 0.5 mol% Pr3+ and 1.0 mol% Yb3+ provided maximum energy transfer efficiency. The Pr3+ ion P-3(0) excited state lifetime decreased from 11.8 to 3.7 mu s as the Yb3+ ion content in the Yb3+/Pr3+ co-doped nanocomposites increased from 0.25 to 1.0 mol%. This observation attests for energy transfer from Pr3+ to Yb3+ ions. On the basis of these results, Pr3+/Yb3+ co-doped SiO2-Nb2O5 nanocomposites are promising materials for UV-Vis to NIR energy conversion.

The present work focuses on sol-gel derived SnO-based thin glass-ceramic films doped with Er ions, fabricated by dipcoating technique. Our goal is to find a viable fabrication protocol to obtain them. Thin films with a variety of composition were synthesized and their structural, optical and spectroscopic properties were investigated. The FTIR spectra and X-ray diffraction patterns were used to characterize the structure of the thin films. The transparency of the thin film was tested by UV-Vis transmittance measurements. The energy transfer dynamic was investigated by time-resolved spectroscopy and photoluminescence measurements.