Zinc Oxide Optical Ceramic Codoped with Er3+ and Yb3+ Ions

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a well-known wide-bandgap semiconductor possessing a hexagonal wurtzite-type structure. In the past years, ZnO nanostructures of various shapes attracted a lot of attention for applications in UV emitters, scintillators, phosphors, etc. [1] . The absorption and emission properties of ZnO-based materials are related to defect states and can be further adjusted by doping with rare-earth ions RE 3+ due to efficient ZnO ↔ RE 3 + energy transfer. In the present work, we report on the fabrication, microstructure and spectroscopic properties of ZnO optical ceramics containing erbium (Er 3+ ) and ytterbium (Yb 3+ ) ions.