Spectroscopic and radiative properties of Sm3+ doped zinc fluoride borophosphate glasses

Sm3+ doped zinc fluoride borophosphate glasses of composition in mol.% P2O5 (39.77)-Na2O (17.38)-Al2O3 (16.67)-B2O3 (15.44)-ZnF2 (10.74)-Sm2O3 (x) where x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.5 have been prepared by melt quenching technique. Optical absorption and fluorescence spectra have been reported. Judd-Ofelt approach has been applied for the f ↔ f transitions of Sm3+ to evaluate various Ωλ (λ = 2, 4, 6) parameters. Using the fluorescence data and these Ωλ parameters, various radiative properties for different emission lines have been evaluated. The values of radiative properties indicate that 4G5/2 → 6H9/2 transition in Sm3+ doped zinc fluoride borophosphate glass may be used in the development of light emitting diodes (LEDs) highly useful in optical communication. The bonding environment surrounding the rare earth (RE) ion has also been discussed.