title: Functionalized sol-gel coatings for optical applications.
abstract: Sol-gel processing is well-known to be a powerful technique for designing materials for optical applications. Here, some recent applications of functionalized sol-gel coatings in optics are briefly reviewed. Lanthanide-doped oxide nanocrystals form a new promising class of nanophosphors allowing the easy sol-gel preparation of transparent and luminescent films for the development of light-emitting devices. Recent experiments on organized mesoporous films show their potential applications in optics, such as stable low-index layers in interferential antireflective devices or as silica binders in TiO 2-photocatalytic devices.
authors.affiliation: Groupe de Chimie du Solide, Laboratoire de Physique de la Matière Condensée, CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau cedex, France.
authors.forename: Anne-Laure
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Pénard
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gacoin
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Boilot