Optical and electronic polarizability investigation of Nd3+-doped soda-lime silicate glasses

This paper reports on different physical and optical properties of Nd3+-doped soda-lime silicate glass. The glasses containing Nd3+ in (65−x)SiO2:25Na2O:10CaO:xNd2O3 (where x=0.0–5.0 mol%) have been prepared by the melt-quenching method. In order to understand the role of Nd2O3 in these glasses the density, molar volume, refractive index and optical absorption were investigated. The results show that the density and molar volume of the glasses increase with an increase in Nd2O3 concentration and consequently generate more non-bridging oxygen (NBOs) into glass matrix. The optical absorption spectra were measured in the wavelength range from 300 to 700 nm and the optical band gaps were determined. It was found that the optical band gap decreases with an increase in Nd2O3 concentration. On the basis of the measured values of density and refractive index, the Nd3+ ion concentration in glasses, the polarizability of oxide ions and optical basicity were theoretically determined.