Non-hydrolytic sol-gel synthesis and characterization of Eosin-Y doped titanosilicate thin films for waveguiding applications

We report a non-hydrolytic sol-gel method by which dye doped inorganic binary oxide thin films were prepared and characterized. Here the problem of incorporating organic dyes in an inorganic host without the degradation of organic active species is surpassed. This method avoids the hydroxyl quenching and the presence of titanium content in varying concentration will tailor the refractive index of the films. The prepared films were characterized using FTIR, scanning electron microscopy, m-line spectroscopy and absorption and emission spectroscopy. Highly uniform, homogenous, amorphous and crack-free dip-coated films were produced by this synthesis method. The films showed a refractive index of 1.5856, 1.6147 and 1.6392 with increasing titanium content. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.