Rare-earth doping of nanocrystalline oxides is a current topic of interest for opto-electronic application. To achieve maximum homogeneity and solubility of the dopant ion in the host structure, various processes have been proposed. On this regard, SnO₂ nanocrystals, where the band gap energy is blue-shifted in respect to bulk SnO₂, are attractive for rare earth ion activation, but the solid state solubility of rare earth ion represents a serious limitation. Besides, solution processing may lead to separation of solid SnO₂, leaving in solution most of the rare earth ions. To overcome this, we synthesized Yb³⁺-doped SnO₂ nanocrystals, using the hydrolytic route in the presence of starch as size stabilizer, a process we recently reported for other oxides. Due to small quantum defect and simple electronic structure, Yb³⁺ shows promising power and efficiency for laser and amplifiers operating around 1 mm. Starting from salt precursors in a starch solution, stable powders with various Yb loads were prepared and characterized by XRD, TEM, ICP and TG-MS techniques. Preliminary assessments of the spectroscopic features of nanocrystals (d <6 nm) were performed by absorption, luminescence, and Raman measurements: The Yb³⁺ typical absorption peak centred at 977nm and intense ²F_5/2® ²F_7/2 Yb³⁺ emission band were observed. Fabrication of silica films loaded with Yb³⁺-activated SnO₂ nanocrystals is in progress.

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