Effects of annealing temperature and neodymium concentration on structural and photoluminescence properties of Nd3+-doped Y2O3-SiO2 powders

We report the structural and photoluminescence (PL) properties of Nd3+-doped Y2O3-SiO2 powders (Y2O3-SiO2:Nd3+) as functions of annealing temperature and Nd3+ ion doping concentration. Y2O3-SiO2:Nd3+ powders were prepared using the high-energy ball-milling (HEBM) method, and their structural and PL properties were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and PL spectroscopy. The XRD results reveal a cubic phase without impurities, and the peak broadening decreases with an increase in annealing temperature due to the increase in the crystallite size. The PL emission intensity increases with an increase in annealing temperature. The highest PL emission intensity is observed for the 300-min milled mixture annealed at 1000 °C for 1 h with a Nd3+ concentration of 1 mol%. The PL peaks excited by 800 nm radiation were detected, centered at 1080 nm (4F3/2 → 4I11/2) and 1350 nm (4F3/2 → 4I13/2).