Variation of luminescence properties of Na2O–CaO–SiO2: Nd3+ glass with crystallinity

The optical absorption and emission intensities of Nd3+-doped transparent glass-ceramics with high crystallinity in Na2O–CaO–SiO2 (NSC) system were studied. The transmittance of NCS decreases with increasing degree of crystallinity, however it still remains 65.5% at λ = 710 nm when the crystallization is almost completed. Judd–Ofelt theory is performed to evaluate the radiative transition probability as well as quality factor, branching ratio and emission cross section. The maximum values of Ω2 and emission cross section (4F3/2 → 4I11/2) of NCS are obtained after nucleating at 630 °C for 10 h. The quality factor increases with increasing crystallinity, while branching ratio for 4F3/2 → 4I11/2 is opposite. The results show that transparent glass-ceramic with high crystallinity is a potential laser host for 1.06 μm emission.

Research highlights
► The transmittance of glass-ceramic remains 65.5% when crystallinity is near 100%.
► Judd-Ofelt theory is performed to analyze the spectral properties.
► The quality factor,X, decreases with increasing crystallinity.
► The value X is near the range of 0.9–1.1, implying the good fluorescent performance.