Thermal and nonlinear optical properties of Tm.sup.3+-doped tellurite glasses

• Published in: Journal of thermal analysis and calorimetry 2019-12, Vol.138 (5), p.2971
• Main Authors: Seshadri, M, Radha, M, Darabian, H, Barbosa, L. C, Bell, M. J. V, Anjos, V
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1388-6150; 1588-2926
• DOI: 10.1007/s10973-019-08344-z

In the present work, thermal and nonlinear properties of tellurite glasses doped with Tm.sub.2O.sub.3 were investigated by means of thermal lens, thermal relaxation and z-scan measurements. The composition of the samples was (78 - x) TeO.sub.2 + 4.5 Bi.sub.2O.sub.3 + 5.5 ZnO + 10.5 Li.sub.2O + 1.5 Nb.sub.2O.sub.5 + xTm.sub.2O.sub.3 (x = 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mol%). Thermal diffusivity (D), specific heat ([rho]c), thermal conductivity (K) and optical path change with temperature (ds/dT) were determined as a function of Tm.sup.3+ concentration. Concerning thermal-optical properties, our results show that the 0.5 mol% Tm doped is the most suitable sample for laser applications as it presented the lowest ds/dT and highest thermal diffusivity (conductivity). Third-order nonlinearities were observed and discussed in 1.0 and 1.5 mol% samples. The nonlinear indices (n.sub.2) found were 1.16 x 10.sup.-13 and 3.89 x 10.sup.-13 cm.sup.2 W.sup.-1, respectively. The data obtained show that the Tm.sup.3+-doped TBZLN glasses have potential for future opto-electronic devices.