Up-conversion enhancement in Er3+ Yb3+ doped 1-D microcavity based on alternating aluminosilicate glass and titania sol-gel layers

Enhancement of luminescence properties to improve and/or control both the absorption and emission of lanthanide (Ln)-activated glasses, ceramics and glass-ceramics, can be achieved with the development of smart photonic systems. Among different possible strategies, a prospective proof of concept for photoluminescence (PL) enhancement based on a one-dimensional photonic crystal (PC) was designed to tailor the up-conversion (UC) emission of Er3+ from a microcavity (MC) with an aluminosilicate glass film co-doped with Er3+/Yb3+ sandwiched between alternating layers of undoped aluminosilicate and TiO2. For the fabrication, the layers of different materials were deposited by sol-gel (SG), in order to mimic the PC structure obtained by simulation for a pre-defined position of the pass band defect (547 nm) within the stop band. An enhancement of up to 13 times of the Er3+ green UC was observed for the MC in comparison with a system without the PC structure.