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Efficient Tb-O-Al coupling via atomic layer engineering for weak magnetic field detection

Huang C., Dong Y., Huang Y., Wang W., Chen M., Chen B., Wen J., Zhang X., Luo Y., Buczynski R., Wang T.

Ceramics International

51(28, part A), 2025, pp. 56272-56280, 10.1016/j.ceramint.2025.09.342

Terbium oxide exhibits significant potential in optoelectronics sensing; yet, its limited solubility in silica severely restricts the active concentration of Tb-doped silica materials. This study presents an efficient, and reproducible approach for aluminum oxide oxygen evolution to attain high-concentration Tb3+ nanoparticle doping. Dense and continuous Tb2O3:Al2O3 films with varying vertical spatial distributions were fabricated on silica substrates utilizing atomic layer deposition (ALD) technology. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and photoluminescence analysis demonstrated that the Al2O3 generated additional O2− active sites, augmenting Tb(4f)-O(2p)-Al(2p) covalent orbital coupling, thereby substantially enhancing structural stability, improving the luminescence performance of Tb2O3, and promoting valence state reduction. A Tb/Al co-doped silica optical fibers were fabricated and utilized for weak magnetic field sensing. The optical fiber demonstrated a compact structure and excellent stability, with an unparalleled solid-state doped fiber sensitivity of 45.60 nT/√Hz. The improved ALD deposition facilitates effective Tb-O-Al coupling, showcasing significant potential for the advancement of next-generation integrated photonic sensors.


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