WAVEGUIDE RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY AND OPTICAL STUDIES OF UNDOPED AND CdS-DOPED SOL-GEL DERIVED ZrO2 THIN FILMS

Abstract: This communication presents waveguide Raman spectra of ZrO2 thin films. The evolution of structural and optical properties is studied as a function of increased annealing temperatures and doping with CdS nanoparticles. Zirconium and titanium oxide materials are of wide interest because of their excellent mechanical, thermal and optical properties. In particular, ZrO2 with its low optical losses and very high linear refractive index is an excellent candidate for integrated devices for all-optical switching. Moreover, doping ZrO2 with semiconductor nanoparticles such as CdS or PbS can confer an appreciable enhancement of the third order optical non-linearity, thus yielding glasses of interest for active components for telecommunications [1-2]. However, since optical properties are closely related to the microstructure, an understanding of the relation between the two is essential for every preparation technique. To date, very few publications have been devoted to structural studies of nanoparticle-doped ZrO2 films. In the present work, polymeric solutions of ZrO2 were synthesized by hydrolysis of zirconium n-propoxide in n-propanol, acetic acid, water and methanol. The resulting sols are colorless and stable for at least one month. This solution was filtered and dip-coated on pure silica substrates. Hea