Effect of the addition of Al2O3, TiO2 and ZnO on the thermal, structural and luminescence properties of Er3+-doped phosphate glasses

Abstract

Er-doped phosphate glasses were fabricated by melt-quenching technique. The changes in their thermal, structural and luminescence properties with the addition of Al2O3, TiO2 or ZnO were studied.Physical and thermal properties were investigated through density measurement and differential thermal analysis. Structural characterization was performed using the Raman and Infrared spectroscopy. In order to study the influence of the composition on the luminescence properties of the glasses, the refractive index, the luminescence spectra and the lifetime values were measured.The results show that with the addition of Al2O3 and TiO2 the phosphate network becomes more connected increasing the glass transition temperature, whereas the addition of ZnO does not show 2 significant changes in the optical, thermal and structural properties but it leads to a larger emission cross-section at 1540 nm as compared to the other glasses. As the site of the Er 3+ is not strongly affected by the change in the glass composition, we think that the emission properties of the glasses depend on the glass structure connectivity, which has an impact on the Er 3+ ions solubility.

Effect of ZnO Addition and of Alpha Particle Irradiation on Various Properties of Er3+, Yb3+ Doped Phosphate Glasses

“…The spectra exhibit a broad band between 650 and 800 cm −1 , three absorption bands located at around 885, 1085 and 1260 cm −1 , and a shoulder at 980 cm −1 . They are similar to the IR spectra reported in [5]. The broad band between 650 and 800 cm −1 can be related to symmetric vibrational modes νsym (P−O−P) of Q 2 units [12].…”

“…The Raman spectra of the glasses exhibit bands at 300, 500,~700, 1170 and 1280 cm −1 and several bands between 800 and 1110 cm −1 . As for the IR spectra, those Raman spectra are similar to those reported in [5]. The band at 300 cm −1 can be attributed to ZnO 4 units and the bands in the 400-600 cm −1 range can be related to bend mode of phosphate polyhedral and to Zn-O vibration [17].…”

“…The shoulder at 1160 cm −1 and the band at 1250 cm −1 are mainly due to symmetric and asymmetric vibrations of PO 2 − in Q 2 units respectively [16]. As seen in [5], no bands can be seen at wavenumber larger than 1300 cm −1 , where the υ(P=O) of Q 3 groups typically appear. The progressive addition of ZnO leads to a decrease in intensity of the bands at 1085 and 1250 cm −1 and also of the shoulders in the 930-1010 cm −1 range compared to the main band.…”

“…The bands at 1170 and 1280 cm −1 can be attributed to symmetric and asymmetric stretching of non-bridging ν(PO 2 ) of Q 2 groups, respectively [18]. As seen in [5], there is no evidence of Q 3 units, usually appearing in wavenumber larger than 1300 cm −1 , although the concentration of ZnO was increased up to 10 mol %. With the addition of ZnO, the bands in the 200-1100 cm −1 range increase in intensity compared to that of the main band.…”

“…It is well known that the local environment around the RE ions has a significant impact on the optical and spectroscopic properties of glasses [4]. In our recent study [5], we investigated the changes in the thermal, structural and luminescence properties of Er 3+ doped phosphate glasses induced by the addition of Al 2 O 3 , TiO 2 and ZnO in low amount (1.5 mol %). We found that the addition of Al 2 O 3 and TiO 2 has only a slight impact on the density, glass structure and spectroscopic (absorption and emission) properties of the glasses whereas the addition of ZnO increases the intensity of the emission at 1540 nm probably due to the depolymerization of the phosphate network.…”