Third order nonlinearity in SnO2:SiO2 wide-band-gap semiconductor-doped glasses

Wide-band-gap semiconductor-doped-glasses were obtained by synthesizing SnO2:SiO2 nanostructured glassceramics. In this binary system, comprising two chemically compatible oxides, crystalline SnO2 nanoclusters; were embedded in a pure silica matrix in a controlled way, by setting appropriate thermochemical parameters, up to 10% of volume fraction of the semiconductor crystalline phase. Measurements of third order non-linearity were carried out by means of z-scan technique at 1064 nm finding a non linear refractive index, comparable with that of glasses doped with Cd chalcogenides. Optical spectroscopy, micro-Raman scattering and electron microscopy indicated good optical and nano-structural features, suitable for stable optical applications, both in bulk and film samples.