Sol–gel derived films in meso-porous matrices: porous silicon, anodic alumina and artificial opals

Abstract

Processing of the sol–gel derived films doped with the lanthanides onto generally available microelectronic materials-like porous silicon (po-Si) and porous anodic alumina is considered as a low-cost method of fabricating the thin luminescent films. The origin of 1.53 μm emission from Er-doped xerogels fabricated onto micro-, meso- and macro-porous silicon is discussed. Further, porous anodic alumina, exhibiting regular pore morphology was shown to be an effective template for fabricating the luminescent xerogels. Finally, application of sol–gel process for synthesis the 3D colloidal photonic crystals is discussed.