Impedance spectroscopy study of SiO2-Li2O:Nd2O3 glasses

In the present study, neodymium-doped lithium silicate glasses have been prepared by the conventional melt-quenching technique. The dielectric properties, electric modulus, and electrical conductivity of SiO2-Li2O (SiLi-0Nd) and SiO2-Li2O:Nd2O3 (SiLi-1.35Nd) have been studied from 1 Hz to 1 MHz in the 333-423 K temperature range. At a given temperature and frequency, we observe that the conductivity decreases when neodymium ions are added to the glass matrix. The activation energy of two distinct regions was evaluated from the ln(σdc) = f(1/T) plot and was found to be E1 (T < 363 K) = 0.61(0.66) eV and E2 (T > 363 K) = 1.26(1.09) eV for SiLi-0Nd (SiLi-1.35Nd). The dielectric constant (εRe) decreases while the dielectric loss (tan (δ)) increases under Nd2O3 doping. We also observe that for both glasses, εRe and tan (δ) tend to increase with increasing temperature and decrease with increasing frequency.