Growth of silver nano-particle embedded in tellurite glass: Interaction between localized surface plasmon resonance and Er3+ ions

In this paper we show a systematic study of the growth of silver nano-particles (NPs) embedded in an Erbium-doped tellurite glass with annealing time, aiming to a photoluminescence enhancement. The results indicate an improved or quenching of the photoluminescence due to an energy transfer mechanism in the coupling between NP’s electric dipoles and Er+3 transitions (4S3/2 → 4I15/2, 4F9/2 → 4I15/2 and 4I13/2 → 4I15/2).

Research highlights► We modeled the growth silver nano-particle embedded in tellurite glass. ► The kinetic growth of nano-particles in function the annealing time. ► The energy transfer the Er3+ ions to the nano-particles and conversely. ► The modifying the oscillator strength of a spectral line. ► Enhancement fluorescence and a blue-shift of peaks in the luminescence spectra.