Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
Sn centers are point defects easily formed by X-ray irradiation of Sn-doped silica. Point defects are a tool for assessing the substitutional character of the dopant in Sn-doped SiO2 glasses with different Sn content (SnO2/SiO2 ratio from 0.01 to 10.0 % w/w) and prepared by two sol-gel methods differing in tin precursors (tin tetraterbutoxide and tin dibutyldiacetate). The former method produced transparent crack-free monolithic glasses of Sn-doped silica with maximum tin content of 0.1 % (SnO2/SiO2 % w/w). The latter method is more efficient and produced transparent glasses with a tin content of 1%.