Preparation and characterization of SiO₂:Sm³⁺ nanotube arrays with 1.06 μm laser antireflective property

SiO₂: Sm³⁺ nanotube arrays with excellent antireflective property at 1.06 μm were synthesized by a template-assisted sol-gel process. The molecular structure, morphology and optical properties of the fabricated SiO₂:Sm³⁺ nanotube arrays were investigated by a Fourier transform infrared spectroscope (FTIR), a Scanning electron microscope (SEM), and a spectro-fluorometer, respectively. The experimental results demonstrate that the SiO₂:Sm³⁺ nanotube arrays were formed via the AAO membrane during the sol-gel process. The remarkable antireflective characteristic of about 0.166% at 1.06 μm was attributed to the drastic decrease of effective refraction index which enhances the matching effect between air and substrate. As well as the absorption performance of Sm3+ at 1.06 μm which consumes the energies of incident light.