Effect of Nd~(3+) on spectroscopic properties of lithium borate glasses

The spectroscopic properties of lithium borate glasses as a function of Nd3＋ ions concentration were reported.Optical absorption spectra of these glasses showed a number of absorption bands in ultra violet and visible region.Optical absorption edge was found to shift towards the longer wavelength（red shift） with increase in Nd2O3.Luminescence spectra revealed three major bands at 902, 1063 and 1334 nm which was due to 4F3/2→4I9/2, 11/2 ＆13/2 transitions of Nd3＋ ions.Luminescence intensity was maximum for 1 mol.% Nd2O3 and further increase in Nd2O3 resulted in luminescence quenching.The luminescence quenching behavior at higher concentration of Nd2O3 was attributed to the Nd3＋-Nd3＋ interaction in the glass matrix.An absorption and emission property of these glasses suggested that these glasses could be useful for 1.06 μm infrared laser applications.     

Luminescence of Er^3＋ in Oxyfluoride Transparent Glass-Ceramics

Erbium doped silicate, germanate, and tellurium-germanate oxyfluoride glasses were prepared in a bulk form. Through appropriate heat treatment of the as-prepared glasses, transparent glass-ceramics (TGCs) were obtained with the formation of β-PbF2∶Er3 nanocrystals in the glass matrix were confirmed by X-ray diffraction. Well-defined diffraction peaks were observed in the samples after heat-treatment. The average crystal diameter of these precipitated crystals from full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the diffraction peak was estimated to be between 8 and 13 nm. Optical absorption, photoluminescence, and upconversion luminescence were measured on as-prepared glass and glass-ceramics. Luminescence spectra in the TGC samples revealed well-resolved, sharp stark-splitting peaks, which indicates that a majority of Er3 ions has been incorporated into the crystalline phase of the nanocrystals. The intensity of the visible and near infrared luminescence mostly increases in TSG compared to that in the as-prepared glass. In 1.53 μm absorption and emission bands, the maximum absorption peak is blue-shifted from 1531 to 1507 nm, whereas the maximum emission peak is red-shifted from 1535 to 1543 nm in TGC, as compared with that in glass. The bandwidth at half-maximum (BWHM) of the emission band is significantly broader in TGC than in glass, which is beneficial to the erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA). Upconversion luminescence was measured using 800 nm near-infrared light excitation. Drastically increased upconversion luminescence was observed from the TGC as compared to that from their corresponding as-prepared glasses. In addition to a strong green emission centered at 545 nm because of 4S3/2→4I15/2 transition and a weaker red emission centered at 662 nm because of 4F9/2→4I15/2 transition, generally seen from the Er3 doped glasses, two violet emissions centered at 410 nm because of 2H9/2→4I15/2 transition and centered at 379 nm because of 4G11/2→4I15/2 transition were also observed from the TGC. The increased luminescence was attributed to the decreased effective phonon energy and the increased energy transfer between the excited ions when Er3 ions were incorporated into the precipitated β-PbF2 nanocrystals. The results indicated two attractive spectroscopic properties of the Er3 doped TGC samples, compared to glass samples, namely a reduced multiphonon decay rate and a reduced inhomogeneous broadening. In addition, these oxyfluoride TGC materials were robust, easy and flexibile to process, and possible to be fabricated in the fiber form for device applications.     

Facile sol-gel combustion synthesis and photoluminescence enhancement of CaZrO3：Sm3＋ nanophosphors via Gd3＋ doping

CaZrO3:Sm and CaZrO3:Sm,Gd nanophosphors were synthesized by a facile and efficient sol-gel combustion method. Their structure and optical properties were studied. The photoluminesce (PL) results showed that the phosphor could be efficiently excited by irradiation at wavelengths in the visible light region (350-430nm). The CaZrO3:Sm nanophosphor exhibited strong yellow-green, orange and red emissions with peak wavelength centered at 565nm (4G5/2→6H5/2), 601nm (4G5/2→6H7/2) and 645nm (4G5/2→6H9/2), respectively. The incorporation of Gd3+ ions could greatly improve the luminescence intensity. The highest emission intensity was observed with 2mol.% Gd3+ doped CaZrO3:3mol.% Sm powder. The material had potential application in the development of materials for LED’s and other optical devices in the visible region.     

Re-determination of the crystal structure of Ca₂Y₈Si₆O₂₆ and study on the luminescent properties of Ca₂Y₈Si₆O₂₆:Tb³⁺

The crystal structure of silicate oxyapatite Ca2Y8Si6O26 was indexed as hexagonal,space group P63/m,a=0.93515 nm,c=0.67872 nm,α=β=90°,γ=120°,V=0.5138692 nm3.Three strong peaks located at 32.079o,32.595o,and 50.104o with d=2.7903,2.74649,1.8194 was in accordance with,(112),and(213) planes.The optimum concentration of Tb3+ in Ca2Y8Si6O26 to yield highest photoluminescence intensity was 10 mol.% of Y3+.The corresponding excitation spectrum consisted of an intense broad band from 220 to 260 nm.The photoluminescence measurements showed that the green emission originated from 5D4-7F5 was predominant in the measured range with strong doublet lines at 543 and 549 nm.     

Upconversion properties of Y2O3：Er films prepared by sol-gel method

Y2O3:Er3+ films were prepared by a simple sol-gel process. The structural properties of Y2O3:Er3+ flints were characterized with X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The results indicated that the Y2O3:Er3+ f'rims might have high upconversion efficiency because of their low vibrational energy. Under 785 and 980 nm laser excitation, the samples showed green (2H11/2→4I15/2, 4S3/2→4I15/2) and red (4F9/2→4I15/2) upconversion emissions. The upconversion mechanisms were stud-led in detail through laser power dependence. Excited state absorption and energy transfer process were discussed as possible upconversion mechanisms. The cross relaxation process in Er3+ was also investigated.     

Energy transfer in Tb~（3＋）,Yb~（3＋） codoped Lu_2O_3 near-infrared downconversion nanophosphors

Tb3+ and Yb3+ codoped Lu2O3 nanophosphors were synthesized by the reverse-strike co-precipitation method. The obtained Lu2O3:Tb3+,Yb3+ nanophosphors were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The XRD results showed that all the prepared nanophosphors could be readily indexed to pure cubic phase of Lu2O3 and indicated good crystallinity. The Tb3+→Yb3+ energy transfer mechanisms in the UV-blue region in Lu2O3 nanophosphors were investigated. The experimental results showed that the strong visible emission around 543 nm from Tb3+ (5D4→7F5) and near-infrared (NIR) emission around 973 nm from Yb3+ (2F5/2→2F7/2) of Lu2O3:Tb3+,Yb3+ nanophosphors were observed under ultraviolet light excitation, respectively. Tb3+ could be effectively excited up to its 4f75d1 state and relaxed down to the 5D4 level, from which the energy was transferred cooperatively to two neighboring Yb3+. The Yb3+ concentration dependent luminescent properties and lifetimes of both the visible and NIR emissions were also studied. The lifetime of the visible emission decreased with the increase of Yb3+ concentration, verifying the efficient energy transfer from the Tb3+ to the Yb3+. Cooperative energy transfer (CET) from Tb3+ to Yb3+ was discussed as a possible mechanism for the near-infrared emission. When doped concentrations were 1 mol.% Tb3+ and 2 mol.% Yb3+, the intensity of NIR emission was the strongest.     

Optical Spectroscopy of Er^3＋ and Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ Co-doped Bi2O3-GeO2-B2O3-ZnO Glasses

The （60 - x）Bi2O3 - xGeO2-30B2O3-10ZnO （x = 5, 10, 20, 30 molar percent） glasses doped with Er^3＋ and Er^3＋/Yb^3＋ were fabricated using the melting method. The thermal stability of the glasses was studied with their DTA curves. The results show that the difference between the glass transition temperature and the crystallization onset temperature increases with the increase of GeO2 content, indicating that the thermal stability of the glass has become better. The absorption spectra were recorded and the stimulated emission cross sections were calculated using the McCumber theory. The Ω2, O4, and Ω6 parameters,the transition probability, the radiative lifetime, and the fluorescence branch ratio of Er^3＋ for optical transition were calculated from their absorption spectra in terms of reduced matrix U^（t）（λ = 2, 4, 6） character for optical transitions. The infrared emission of Er^3＋ was measured upon excitation with 970 nm light and the full width at half-maximum （FWHM） was estimated from the emission spectra. The pumping efficiency and the intensity of the emission at the 1.54 μm band of Er^3＋ were enhanced considerably by co-doping Yb^3＋ .     

Spectroscopic Properties and Judd-Ofelt Theory Analysis of Er^3＋-Doped Heavy Metal Oxyfluoride Silicate Glass

Er^3 -doped heavy metal oxyfluoride silicate glass was fabricated and characterized, and the absorption spectrum and fluorescence spectrum of the glass were studied. The Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters Ωt(t=2, 4, 6), spontaneous transition probability, fluorescence branching ratio and radiative lifetime of each energy levels for Er^3 were calculated by Judd-Ofelt theory, and stimulated emission cross-section of ^4I13/2→^4I15/2 transition was calculated by McCumber theory. The results show that fluorescence full width at half maximum and stimulated emission cross-section of Er^3 -doped heavy metal oxyfluoride silicate glass are broad and large, respectively. Compared with other host glasses, the gain bandwidth property of Er^3 -doped heavy metal oxyfluoride silicate glass is close to those of tellurite and bismuth glasses, and has advantage over those of silicate, phosphate and germante glasses.     

Quenching mechanism of Er~(3+) emissions in Er~(3+)-and Er~(3+)/Yb~(3+)-doped SrAl_(12)O_(19) nanophosphors

Nanoscaled SrAl12O19:Er3+ and SrAl12O19:Yb3+,Er3+ phosphors were synthesized by a combustion method.The emission intensities of every sample were compared by a new method with the emission of codoped Gd3+ ions as a reference.Compared with their bulk material prepared by the solid-state reaction method,a higher Er3+ quenching concentration,as high as 20%,was observed in the nanoscaled phosphors for both visible(VIS) and near infrared(NIR) emissions.The higher quenching concentration in both VIS and NIR regio...     

Physical,structural and optical studies on magnesium borate glasses doped with dysprosium ion

Intense visible emissions from dysprosium(Dy3+) ions doped glasses became prospective for diverse technological applications. In this paper, physical, optical and structural properties of magnesium borate glasses doped with varied concentrations of Dy_2 O_3 were examined. Such glasses were synthesised by melt quenching method and characterized at room temperature using several analytical techniques.Luminescence and absorption spectra(in the visible region) of as-quenched samples were used to evaluate the physical and optical properties. XRD pattern confims the amorphous state of as-quenched samples. The Fourier transform infrared(FTIR) spectra of glasses reveal various bonding vibrations assigned to different functional groups. UV-vis-NIR spectra disclose eight absorption bands accompanied by a band for hypersensitive transition positioned at 1260 nm(~6 H_(15/2)→~6 F_(11/2)). The values of direct and indirect optical energy band gap of the studied glasses are decreased with the increase of Dy~(3+) ion contents. The photoluminescence spectra of all glasses under the excitation of 380 nm display two prominent emission bands centred at 497 nm(~4 F_(9/2)→~6 H_(15/2), blue) and 587 nm(~4 F_(9/2) →~6 H_(13/2), green).The achieved intense luminescence from the proposed glass composition may be beneficial for solidstate laser applications.     

Effect of gadolinium incorporation on optical characteristics of YNbO_4：Eu~（3＋） phosphors for lamp applications

Eu3+-doped (Y,Gd)NbO4 phosphor was synthesized by solid-state reaction for possible application in cold cathode fluorescent lamps. A broad absorption band with peak maximum at 272 nm was observed which was due to the charge transfer between Eu3+ ions and neighboring oxygen anions. A deep red emission at the peak wavelength of 612 nm was observed which could be attributed to the 5D0→7F2 transition in Eu3+ ions. The highest luminance for Y1-x-yGdyNbO4:Eux3+ under 254 nm excitation was achieved at Eu3+ concentration of 18 mol.% (x=0.18) and Gd3+ concentration of 8.2 mol.% (y=0.082). The luminance of Y0.738Gd0.082NbO4:Eu3+0.18 was higher than that of a typical commercial phosphor Y2O3:Eu3+ and the CIE chromaticity coordinate was (0.6490, 0.3506), which was deeper than that of Y2O3:Eu3+. The particle size of the synthesized phosphors was controlled by the NaCl flux and particle size as high as 8 μm with uniform size distribution of particles was obtained.     

Polarized spectral analysis of Er3+ ions in Er3+/yb3+:LiLa(MoO4)2 crystal

Optical characteristics and upconversion dynamics of Er3+ in Er3+/Yb3+:LiLa(MoO4)2 crystals were investigated. The absorption spectra, fluorescence spectra and the fluorescence decay curves were analyzed at room temperature. The infrared emission at 1538 nm and visible emissions at 520–569 and 640–670 nm, corresponding to 2H11/2,4S3/2→4I15/2 and 4F9/2→4I15/2 transitions of Er3+ ions, were simultaneously observed in Er3+/Yb3+:LiLa(MoO4)2 crystals under 976 nm excitation at room temperature. The maximal emission cross-section near 1530 nm for π-polarization was 0.63×10–20 cm2 and the measured lifetime of 4I13/2 was 4.88 ms. The upconversion process was involved in sequential two-phonon processes, either the energy transfer from Yb3+ ions or by the excited state absorption.     

Enhanced visible green and 1.5 μm radiative emission of Er~(3+) ions in Li_2O-PbO-Al_2O_3-B_2O_3 glasses for photonic applications

A series of Er~(3+) ions doped lithium lead alumino borate(LiPbAlB) glasses were synthesized via melt quench method and their structural,physical and optical properties were studied.Judd-Ofelt theory in correlation with the emission and absorption profiles was performed for the measurement of various radiative parameters for different transitions of Er~(3+) doped glasses.The as-prepared glasses show deep green(550 nm) as well as NIR(1532 nm) emission at 380 and 980 nm excitation wavelengths,respectively.The intensity of emission spectra increases with Er~(3+) ions concentration up to 1.5 mol% and beyond quenching is observed.The Dexter theory applied to the emission profiles reveals the interaction between Er~(3+)ions as dipole-dipole in nature.CIE color coordinates are found to fall in the green region of the visible spectrum.It is observed that 1.5 mol% of Er~(3+) ions concentration is optimum to exhibit the maximum quantum efficiency,branching ratios,gain bandwidth,emission cross-section,gain crosssection and aptly suitable for visible and NIR photonic applications.     

Local microstructure and photoluminescence of Er-doped 12CaO·7Al2O3 powder

Er-doped 12CaO·7Al2O3 (C12A7:Er) powders were prepared using the sol-gel method followed by annealing inorganic precursors. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman and absorption spectra revealed that Er ions existed and substituted Ca2 lattice site in C12A7. The photoluminescence of C12A7:Er at room temperature was observed in the visible and infrared region using 488 nm (2.54 eV) Ar line as excitation source, respectively. The sharp and intense green emission bands with multi-peaks around 520 nm and 550 nm correspond to the transitions from the excited states 2H11/2 and 4S3/2 to the ground state 4I15/2, respectively. Furthermore, red emission band around 650 nm was also observed. It was attributed to the electronic transition from excited states 4F9/2 to the ground state 4I15/2 inside 4f-shell of Er3 ions. The intensive infrared emission at 1.54μm was attributed to the transition from the first excited states of 4I13/2 to the ground state (4I15/2). The temperature dependent photoluminescence of infrared emission showed that the integrated intensity reached a maximum value at near room temperature. The forbidden transitions of intra-4f shell electrons in free Er3 ions were allowed in C12A7 owing to lack of the inversion symmetry in the Er3 position in C12A7 crystal field. Our results suggested that C12A7:Er was a candidate for applications in Er-doped laser materials, and full color display.     

Formation and Properties of Phosphate System Protection Glasses Doped by Rare Earth

The forming-regions and properties were studied on phosphate system glasses Sm2O3 doped by two step melting method. It shows that with the increasing of rare earth content, the forming-regions would shrink and the content of Sm2O3 should be controlled in 15 mol %. The structure and absorption spectrum were tested by infra-red spectrum and spectrophotometer. The experimental results provide that with the. increasing of Sm2O3 content, the characteristic absorption peak of 1280 cm- 1 would move to the low wave numbers and vibration weakening, in the absorption spectrum,the intensity of characteristic absorption peak was enhanced and broadened at 1075 nm, and the transmittance of 1060 nm is lessthan 1% .     

Luminescence Properties of Sm^3＋ doped Bi2ZnB2O7

The phosphors of （Bi1- x Smx ） 2ZnB2O7 （ x = 0. 01, 0. 03, 0. 05, 0. 07, and 0. 09） were synthesized by conventional solid state reaction. The purity of all samples was checked by X-ray powder diffraction （XRD）. XRD analysis shows that all these compounds are of a single phase of Bi2ZnB2O7, indicating that the Bi^3＋ in Bi2ZnB2O7 can be partly replaced by the Sm^3＋ without the change of crystal structure. The excitation and emission spectra at room temperature show the typical 4f-4f transitions of Sm^3＋ . The dominant excitation line is around 404 nm due to ^6H5/2→^4K11/2 and the emission spectrum consists of a series of lines at 563, 599, 646, and 704 nm due to ^4G5/2→^6H5/2, ^6H7/2, ^6H9/2, and ^6H11/2, respectively. The optimal concentration of Sm^3＋ in Bi2ZnB2O7 is about 3mol% （relative to lmol Bi^3＋ ） and the critical distance Rc was calculated as 2.1 nm. The temperature dependence of the emission intensity of Bi1.94Sm0.06ZnB2O7 was examined in the temperature range between 100 and 450 K. The quenching temperature where the intensity has dropped to half of the initial intensity is 280 K. The lifetime for Sm^3＋ in Bi1.94Sm0.06ZnB2O7 is fitted as a value of 0.29 and 1.03 ms.     

Research of Luminescence Properties on MO-RE2 O3 -B2 O3:Eu, Mn(M=Mg, Ca, Sr; RE=Y, La, Gd)

A series of phosphor of MO-RE2 O3-B2 O3: Eu, Mn ( M = Mg, Ca, Sr; RE = Y, La, Gd) were prepared and studied.Excitation spectra exhibited high absorption in UV region (370 ～ 400 nm).There existed two valence states for europium ions Eu2 and Eu 3 , the broad emission band peaking at 515 nm correspond to the 5d-4f emission transition of Eu2 , the sharp emission peaking at 590 and 610 nm correspond to the 5D0→7FJ(J = 1,2,3,4) emission transition of Eu 3 By the introduction of Mg and Y into MO-RE2O3-B2O3: Eu, blue-green emission was restrained ultimately and red emission peaking at 610 nm was enhanced strongly, intensity and colorimetric purity of red light were both enhanced.Furthermore, Mg1-xSrxO-Y2O3-B2O3: Eu was also researched, the introduction of Sr into MgO-Y2O3-B2O3:Eu gives rise to a shift to longer wavelengths of the position of the excitation peak, and the emission spectra varies with the increasing of x simultaneously.     

Photoluminescence properties and effect of Bi~（3＋） dopant of Eu~（3＋） and Dy~（3＋） co-doped Sr_3V_2O_8

Photoluminescence properties of Sr 2.5 Dy 1/3-x Eu x V 2 O 8(x=0,0.06,0.12,0.18,0.24,0.33) were investigated.The excitation spectra included a broad band in the short wavelength region and several sharp lines in the longer wavelength region,and the spectral origin were discussed.The emission spectra were measured in two different exciting ways,i.e.,exciting the VO 4 group at 270 nm and the Eu 3+ ion at 398 nm,respectively,and the energy transferring process was reasonably suggested.Furthermore,multi-color emission could be achieved in Sr 2.5 Dy 1/3-x Eu x V 2 O 8,indicating that the studied samples had potential applications in the white light emitting diodes.Further investigation showed that reducing the concentration of Eu 3+ and Dy 3+ and introducing Bi 3+ as a sensitizer ion greatly enhanced the emission intensity.     

Energy transfer and frequency upconversion in Er~（3＋）-Yb~（3＋） codoped oxy-fluoro-tungstosilicate glasses

Er3+-Yb3+ codoped oxy-fluoro-tungstosilicate glasses with infrared-to-visible frequency upconversion luminescence were prepared by melting quenching in air.The effects of Er3+ doping on the optical properties of the samples were measured by means of techniques such as optical absorption spectra and photoluminescence spectra.The results showed that intense green and red signals centered at 546 and 665 nm,corresponding to the 4S3/2 → 4I15/2 and 4F9/2 → 4I15/2 transitions of Er3+ by a multiphoton stepwise phonon-assisted excited-state absorption process,respectively,were simultaneously observed by exciting the samples with a diode laser operating at 980 nm at room temperature.The upconversion process was found very sensitive to Er3+ content at a constant Yb2O3 content of 5 mol.%.With the increase of Er3+ content from 0.5% to 1.5%,the upconversion intensity increased gradually.Further increasing of Er3+ content to 3.0% resulted in a significant fluorescence quenching.Moreover,the possible upconversion mechanisms were discussed based on the energy-matching conditions and the quadratic dependence on excitation power.     

Study on Optical Properties and Structure of Sm2O3 Doped Boron-Aluminosilicate Glass

Sm³⁺ doped B₂O₃-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ glasses were prepared by high temperature solid-state method. The absorption spectrum, excitation spectrum, emission spectrum and the effect on concentrations of Sm³⁺ were investigated at room temperature. The results indicated that, under the excitation of 472 nm, the glass gane visible (VIS) and near infra-red (NIR) emissions at 596, 641, 561, 1075, 1118 and 1177 nm, respectively. The optimum concentration of Sm³⁺ was determined to be 1.0 mol%. On the other hand, magic angle spin nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR) and infrared (IR) spectra were utilized to characterize the the network structures of Sm₂O₃ doped boron aluminosilicate glasses. The results showed that network units, namely, [SiO₄], [BO₃], [BO₄], [AlO₄] existed in Sm³⁺ doped B₂O₃-Al₂O₃-SiO₂ glasses, and Sm³⁺ existed as network modifier. The higher Sm³⁺ concentration was, the more units of [BO₃] would transit to [BO₄].