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

TL;DR

This study investigates how adding Al2O3, TiO2, and ZnO to Er3+-doped phosphate glasses affects their thermal, structural, and luminescent properties, revealing that composition influences glass network connectivity and emission characteristics.

Contribution

It provides new insights into how specific oxide additions modify the properties of Er3+-doped phosphate glasses, especially regarding their luminescence and structural connectivity.

Findings

Al2O3 and TiO2 increase glass transition temperature

ZnO enhances emission cross-section at 1540 nm

Glass structure connectivity affects Er3+ emission properties

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 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 Er3+ 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 Er3+ ions solubility.