Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5442356 | Optical Materials | 2017 | 11 Pages |
Abstract
The study reports the effect of samarium concentration on the physical, structural and spectroscopic characteristics of samarium doped lead alumino borate glasses having composition 20PbO-(10-x)Al2O3-70B2O3-xSm2O3; x = 0.1, 0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 mol %. The glasses were fabricated by conventional melt-quenching technique and then characterized by XRD, FTIR, optical absorption and fluorescence spectra. X-ray diffraction studies confirmed the amorphous nature of the prepared glasses. FTIR spectra indicate the presence of BO3, BO4, AlO6 and a few other structural groups. Various physical properties such as density, molar volume, refractive index, rare earth ion concentration, boron-boron distance and polarizability etc. were determined using conventional methods and standard formulae. The Judd-Ofelt theory was applied on the optical absorption spectra of the glasses to evaluate the three phenomenological intensity parameters Ω2, Ω4 and Ω6. The value of Ω2 was found to be highest for glass with 1 mol% Sm2O3 and attributed to the asymmetry of the ligand field at the rare earth ion site and the rare earth oxygen (Sm-O) covalency. The calculated intensity parameters and fluorescence spectra were further used to predict the radiative transition probability (A), radiative lifetime (ÏR), branching ratio (βR), peak wavelength (λp), effective line widths (Îλeff) and stimulated emission cross-section (Ï) for the characteristic 4G5/2 â 6H5/2, 6H7/2 and 6H9/2 transitions of the Sm3+ ion. Concentration quenching was observed for 2 mol% concentration of Sm2O3 and ascribed to energy transfer through various cross-relaxation channels between Sm3+ ions. Reasonably high values of branching ratios and stimulated emission cross-section for the prepared glasses points towards their utility in the development of visible lasers emitting in the reddish-orange spectral region. However, the glass with 1 mol% Sm2O3 was found to show better radiative properties.
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Materials Science
Ceramics and Composites
Authors
Shaweta Mohan, Simranpreet Kaur, D.P. Singh, Puneet Kaur,