Structural and optical properties of Eu3+-doped sol–gel silica–soda glasses

Rare earths (REs) incorporated in glasses, mostly in the form of RE3+ ions, have several applications such as lasers and optical amplifiers, spectral conversion layers for solar cells, light emitters and sensors. In this context, both the composition and the structural properties of the glass, as well as the dopant concentration play an important role in determining the optical properties and the efficiency of the system. Usually, the concentration of REs is small, below 1 at