Optical properties of PMMA doped with erbium(III) and ytterbium(III) complexes

In this article, we report the fabrication and optical/spectroscopic properties of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) doped with rare earth (RE) (Er³⁺ and Er³⁺/Yb³⁺) ions. Infrared spectroscopy revealed only very weak O? H stretching vibration peaks in the samples, which is important if satisfactory photoluminescence is to be observed at 1530 nm. Measurement of transmission spectra in the wavelength ranges from 300 to 700 nm for Er³⁺‐doped samples and from 900 to 1050 nm for Yb³⁺‐doped samples enabled us to observe the ⁴G_11/2 (377 nm) and ²H_11/2 (519 nm) transmission bands typical for Er³⁺‐doped samples, as well as the ²F_5/2 (975 nm) band typical for Yb³⁺‐doped samples. Under excitation at 980 nm, at room temperature, the characteristic Er³⁺ emission at 1530 nm was also observed with improving trend when the higher RE concentrations were applied. The results indicate that the PMMA reveals very low tendency to the RE clustering, which together with low cost and easy fabrication make it a material with a great potential in the active photonics devices. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2009. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers