Enhanced luminescence in Er3+-doped SiO2-ZrO2 glass ceramic waveguide

Increased percent molar ratio of zirconia (ZrO
₂
) in Er
³⁺
-doped SiO
₂
-ZrO
₂
glass-ceramic waveguide exhibits higher photoluminescence intensity. Zirconia helps to disperse Er
³⁺
ions homogeneously within the glass ceramic matrix and reduced the formation of ion clustering. This effect results in reduced the number of cluster and promotes intense and stable photoluminescence. SiO
₂
-ZrO
₂
planar waveguide thin films doped with 0.58 mol% of Er
³⁺
were prepared via sol-gel technique.