Fluorescence line narrowing and decay dynamics in sol–gel glasses containing Eu3+

Fluorescence line narrowing and emission decay measurements on Eu3+ doped sol–gel glasses have been used to investigate and compare local Eu3+ environments in binary SiO2–TiO2 glasses, SiO2 glasses containing Al3+, and SiO2 glasses without co-dopant. In particular, clustering of rare-earth ions and the effects of annealing temperature on residual hydroxide concentration are studied. The Al and Ti co-doped samples show pronounced line-narrowing implying little energy migration among Eu3+ ions. The 5D0–7FJ fluorescence decays are faster in the Ti glasses.