SiO2-SnO2 photonic glass-ceramics

Since the pioneering work of Tick, Borrelli, Cornelius, and Newhouse on transparent glass ceramics performed in 1995, the research regarding photonic glass-ceramics is growing fast. From the considerable number of published studies, covering a broad spectrum of applications, it appears that reliable fabrication techniques and realization of effective photonic devices are the two crucial pivots for an important advance in this glass photonics area. The important results already obtained in rare earth-activated oxyfluoride, fluoride, and silicate transparent glass ceramics are well known. Regarding silicate-based photonic glass-ceramics the binary system SiO-SnO is really appealing when we look at the two above mentioned objectives.In this communication, a brief review of the state of art, consolidated results and recent advances in erbium doped SnO-SiO transparent glass-ceramics, obtained by sol-gel technology will be presented, and short-term perspectives will be outlined.