Optical characterization of CdSe/Dy3+-doped silica matrices

Cadmium selenide nanocrystals along with dysprosium ions are doped in silica matrices through sol-gel route. The optical bandgap and size of the CdSe nanocrystals are calculated from the absorption spectrum. The size of the CdSe nanocrystallites is also evaluated from the TEM measurements. The fluorescence intensities are compared for SiO2-Dy3+ and CdSe-doped SiO2-Dy3+. The fluorescence intensity of Dy3+ is considerably increased in the presence of CdSe nanocrystals.