Cathodoluminescent properties of tin dioxide sol–gel doped with Tb3+ and Eu3+ grown in porous silicon

Tin dioxide doped with antimony (SnO 2 :Sb) and sol-gel doped with terbium (Tb 3+ ) were deposited on porous silicon (PS) layers and on monocrystalline Si wafers. Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) show the presence of tin, oxygen and terbium in the PS matrix. Preliminary measurements on cathodoluminescent emission are presented. The mechanism of rare-earth emission is discussed through a comparative study of the cathodoluminescence (CL) of SnO 2 : Sb: Tb 3+ /PS and SnO 2 :Sb:Tb 3+ /Si. A strongly enhanced CL efficiency of SnO 2 :Sb sol-gel doped with Tb 3+ and Eu 3+ ions deposited in PS is reported. The enhancement is attributed to a process of excitation transfer between rare-earth ions.