Self-quenching of spontaneous emission in Sm3+ doped lead-borate glass

The lifetimes of Sm3+ doped in a binary glass are studied as a function of the complex refractive index of the glass. The local field effect has been taken into account and a real cavity around the emitter is assumed. The results are analyzed in the framework of the quantum electrodynamical equation to obtain a parameter that is related to the radius of cavity around Sm3+. The knowledge of this parameter is crucial in tailoring the lifetimes and has been found to be 1.48 nm.