Silica-based sol-gel films optically functionalized through doping with organic molecules

We have synthesized and measured the optical properties of glass films doped with organic molecules obtained with the sol-gel ormosil technique. Specifically, two infrared dyes have been incorporated in the samples and the absorption and emission spectra in the 1.3 mu m range are reported. The differences with respect to the corresponding spectra in liquid solutions are discussed. Moreover, the possibility of doping ormosil glasses with electrooptical metallorganic complexes is demonstrated and preliminary measurements of molecular orientation by an external electric field have been carried out. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.