Mechanism for broadening and enhancing Nd³⁺ emission in zinc aluminophosphate laser glass by addition of Bi₂O₃

Abstract

Nd3+‐doped phosphate laser glasses have been attracting much attention and widespread investigation due to their high solubility of rare earth (RE) ions, excellent spectroscopic properties, and large damage threshold. However, the narrow NIR emission bandwidth (less than 30 nm) of these Nd3+‐doped phosphate glasses limits their further application toward ultrahigh power field and efficient fiber laser in new region. Here, we demonstrate the broadening and enhancing of Nd3+ NIR emission in laser glass of zinc aluminophosphate through tuning the glass structure and covalency of Nd‐O bond without limiting the radiative properties of Nd3+. The maximum bandwidth of 1.05 μm emission is broadened to 50 nm, which is comparable to that of Nd3+‐doped aluminate laser glasses. Simultaneously, the lifetime of 4F3/2 level is elongated nearly by two times. Structural and optical properties of prepared glasses were discussed systematically to reveal the mechanism. Detailed analysis on optical spectra and glass structure indicates that the bandwidth is affected by not only the covalency of Nd‐O but also the compactness of glass structure. Our results could enrich our understanding about the relationship between local glass structure and luminescence behaviors of active centers, and may be helpful in designing new RE‐doped laser glass systems.

Near infrared mechanoluminescence from Sr3Sn2O7: Nd3+for in situ biomechanical sensor and dynamic pressure mapping

“…When Nd 3+ content is 0.2 mol%, ML emission spectrum first appears, which consists of two emission bands of 700‐850 nm and 850‐1000 nm. The 850‐1000 nm emission band comes from the transition ( 4 F 3/2 → 4 I 9/2 ) of Nd 3+ ions, and the host Sr 3 Sn 2 O 7 is responsible for the 700‐800 nm emission band, since the blank sample shows similar photo‐emission as Figures illustrates. When the Nd 3+ content increases to 0.5 mol%, the ML intensity of host begins to decrease.…”

“…As the Nd 3+ content increases, emission intensities of host gradually attenuate, while the emission of Nd 3+ first increases and then it is decreased. Thus, the increase in ML intensity of Nd 3+ may be because of a combination of the increase in emitter centers and an energy transfer from host to Nd 3+ ions in Figure , while the intensity decrease when the Nd 3+ content exceeds 1.0 mol% is due to the concentration quenching effect . The three emission bands centered at ~ 900 nm, ~1074 nm, and ~ 1350 nm are from the excited state 4 F 3/2 of Nd 3+ ions to 4 I 9/2 , 4 I 11/2 , and 4 I 13/2 , respectively.…”

“…Figure A denotes that when Nd 3+ content exceeds 1.0 mol%, higher Nd 3+ content will quench ML from host. This may be because the absorption of Nd ions at 800 nm is enhanced, and the external mechanical energy is more transferred to the Nd 3+ ions to result in a host ML quenching . Our samples also need a preirradiation by high energy beams process as most ML phosphors, which inspires us to explore the influence of delay times on the ML performances which are defined as the time from the point of removing irradiation source to the beginning of ML experiments.…”

Tunable dual‐mode emission with excellent thermal stability in Ca4ZrGe3O12:Eu phosphors prepared in air for NUV‐LEDs

“…In addition, owing to the existence of [Ca/ZrO 6 ] octahedron or [CaO 8 ] dodecahedra in CZGO, Eu 2+ are surrounded by a relatively loose 3D network . Such a loose structure will be attacked by the oxygen, and then the oxygen could capture electrons from [Eu 3+ ] Ca × .…”

Transparent glass and glass‐ceramic in the binary system NaPO3‐Ta2O5

“…In addition, it can result in a significant decrease in the phonon energy, minimizing the nonradiative processes when doped with rare‐earth ions (RE) . RE‐doped glasses are attractive for optical applications such as lasers and telecommunications devices …”