Energy Transfer Studies of Tb Doped Sol-gel glasses

We present recent studies of the effects of energy transfer on the time evolution of Tb$^{3+}$ emission lines in sol-gel glasses. Utilizing a multichannel analyzer we are now able to measure the lifetimes of weak emission lines from the sol-gel glasses. The measured decay signals have been analyzed using theoretical models to gain insight into the distribution of the rare earth ions in doped glasses. We will discuss the observed energy dynamics as the result of chemical treatments of the glass and fabrication variables.