Physical properties and up- conversion development of Ho3+ ions loaded in nano-composite silica titania thin film

Structural and fluorescence properties were investigated for different concentrations of Ho3+ ions doped silica titania nano-composite thin films. These films were deposited on glass substrates at two different annealing temperatures 300 and 500 °C for 3 h.The obtained films were transparent, smooth and adhesive to the substrate glass surface. The crystallite sizes were in the nano-scale phase with values ranged from 15 to 20 nm. The average thin film thickness was found to be equal to about 1.7 μm. Blue, red and green up-conversion emissions are detected using 808 nm laser diode. The highest emission bands were observed in the doped film with 0.4 mol% of Ho3+ ions. The prepared thin films could be considered promising candidates for higher efficiency up-down shifting solar cell, photonic, photo-catalytic and optical sensor applications.