Spectroellipsometric and photoluminescent studies of SnOx nanostructures doped with Sm ions

► The SnOx and SnOx:Sm2O3 (5 wt%) nanoparticle samples were synthesized. ► These nanoparticles exhibited orange emission. ► Samariums ions in SnOx nanostructures enhanced huge photoluminescence efficiency. ► The optical properties of SnO2:Sm3+ nanocrystals were extracted from ellipsometrical measurements. ► Such nanocrystals are a direct semiconductor with a gap of ≈3.6 eV.