Enhanced 1.53 µm emission of Er3+ in nano-Ag embedded sodium-boro-lanthanate glasses

• Published in: Journal of alloys and compounds 2021-03, Vol.856, p.158212, Article 158212
• Main Authors: Swetha, B.N., Devarajulu, G., Keshavamurthy, K., Jagannath, G., Deepa, H.R.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Absorption spectra; Ag NPs; Borate glasses; Fiber lasers; Fiber optics; Glass; Judd-Ofelt analysis; Luminescence; Quenching; Silver chloride; Spectroscopic properties; Stimulated emission; Surface plasmon resonance
• ISSN: 0925-8388; 1873-4669
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2020.158212

The manuscript reports the influence of Ag NPs on the luminescence performance of Er3+ ions activated in borate glass host. The formation and dispersion of Ag NPs in the glass matrices revealed by absorption and HR-TEM measurements. The average size of Ag NPs was found to be 2.80, 7.36, and 16.02 nm, for ELB-1, ELB-2, and ELB-3 glasses, respectively. Utilizing the UV-Visible-NIR absorption spectra, the Judd-Ofelt parameters (Ωλ= 2, 4, 6) were calculated. It was found that the Ω2 values of glasses increased with increase in Ag NPs concentration, suggested that the enhanced covalency and reduced symmetry around the Er3+ ions. The visible luminescence emission under 378 nm excitation shows the emission bands positioned at 535 (2H11/2→4I15/2, green), 547 (4S3/2→4I15/2, green), and 624 (4F9/2→4I15/2, red) nm. NIR emission of all the glasses exhibits an intense peak at 1.53 µm due to 4I13/2 → 4I15/2 transition of Er3+ ions. The visible and NIR emission enhancement was noticed up to 0.1 mol% of AgCl and subsequent quenching at higher concentrations. The mechanisms responsible for luminescence enhancement and quenching has been underlined. The glass host doped with 0.1 mol% of AgCl (i.e., ELB-1) possesses high stimulated emission cross section along with optical gain width which suggests the glass containing 0.1 mol% AgCl is beneficial for solid state IR lasers and fiber-optic communication applications. Possible energy transfer channels diagram between Ag NPs and Er3+ [Display omitted] •Er3+ doped Ag NPs nucleated sodium-boro-lanthanate glasses were developed for optical communication and IR laser applications.•HR-TEM results confirm the nucleation of homogeneous spherical Ag NPs with an average particle from 3 to 15 nm.•Judd-Ofelt theory used to evaluate the J-O intensity parameters Ωλ (where λ = 2, 4, 6).•The maximum optical gain bandwidth that can be obtained for the titled glass is 8.18 × 10−26 cm3.•The energy transfer mechanism was analyzed and described quantitatively.