Characteristics of Nd3+ ions in sol-gel derived silicate glass in presence of Al(NO3)3 and the 4F3/2 → 4I11/2 transition

The paper reports investigation of optical behaviour of Nd3+ ions incorporated into sol-gel derived silica glass in presence of codopant Al(NO3)3 using the Judd-Ofelt theory and its optical quality verification by non-linear parameterization of materials. The Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters (Ωλ, λ = 2, 4 and 6) and radiative properties like integrated emission cross-section (∑), branching ratio (βr) of transitions 4F3/2 → 4I11/2, 9/2 and life time (τ) of 4F3/2 state are evaluated using the J-O parameters and compared with those in other matrices. Non-linear parameters like Abbe number (υe), non-linear refractive index (n2) are calculated for the glass from measured refractive indices at three different wavelengths.