Luminescence and Gamma Spectroscopy of Phosphate Glass Doped with Nd3+/Yb3+ and Their Multifunctional Applications

Abstract

A new glass with a composition of 40P2O5-30ZnO-20LiCl-10BaF2 (in mol%), doped with 3.5Nd2O3-3.5Yb2O3, was fabricated by the quenching melt technique. The luminescence (PL) and gamma spectroscopy of the glass were investigated systematically. The spectroscopic parameters of the prepared glass, such as the optical energy gap, Judd–Ofelt parameters Ωk (where k = 2, 4 and 6), lifetimes and branching ratio of the Nd3+/Yb3+ level, were evaluated. Moreover, the shielding parameters, such as the linear and mass attenuation coefficients, mean free path and half-value layer, were evaluated. The prepared glass had a spectroscopic quality factor (Ω4/Ω6) of 0.84, which is about three-times larger than that of the most standard laser host, Nd3+:YAG. The energy of the 2P1/2 (Nd3+) level (~23,250 cm−1) was twice the energy of the Yb3+ transition (~10,290 cm−1). The value of the emission cross section (σem(λ)) of Nd3+:4F3/2→4I9/2 and Yb3+:2F5/2→2F7/2 were 2.23 × 10−24 cm2 and 2.88 × 10−24 cm2, respectively. The fabricated glass had a high emission cross section and low mean free path parameters, which makes the fabricated glass a potential candidate for multifunctional applications, such as laser emissions for medical purposes.