Antimony oxide based glasses, novel laser materials

Karima Ouannes (1) , Kheirreddine Lebbou (2) , Brian M. Walsh (3) , Marcel Poulain (4) , Guillaume Alombert-Goget (2) , Yannick Guyot (2)

1 BISKRA - Université Mohamed Khider de Biskra
2 ILM - Institut Lumière Matière [Villeurbanne]
3 LaRC - NASA Langley Research Center [Hampton]
4 ISCR - Institut des Sciences Chimiques de Rennes

Glasses based on Sb2O3 make one of the major classes of heavy metal oxide glasses. This paper concerns two antimonite glasses, 88Sb2O3-10Na2O-2Bi2O3 (SNB2) and 60Sb2O3-20WO3-19Na2O-1Bi2O3 (SWNB1), doped with 0.25 mol% Er2O3. Bulk samples have been prepared and their absorption and fluorescence spectra have been recorded. Differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) measurements emphasize a thermal stability range ΔT > 100 °C that expresses a good stability against devitrification. Both FTIR and Raman spectra provide information on the structural organization of the glasses. The maximum phonon energies are 700 cm−1 and 920 cm−1 for SNB2 and SWNB1 glasses, respectively. The spectroscopic analysis of the absorption and emission properties of the Er3+ ions in the SNB2 and SWNB1 glasses has been performed. The Judd-Ofelt theory has been applied to interpret the local environment of the Er3+ ion site and covalency of the Er[sbnd]O bond, but also to determine the radiative lifetime (τr) for 4I13/2 → 4I15/2 emission transition. The emission cross-sections for the 4I13/2 → 4I15/2 transition (1528 nm) were calculated using McCumber and Füchtbauer-Ladenburg theories. We discuss the potential application of these glasses. © 2016 Elsevier B.V.

Mots clés: Antimony oxide glasses; Erbium ions; Judd-Ofelt analysis; Laser glasses; Stimulated emission cross-sections

Domaines: Chimie

Karima Ouannes, Kheirreddine Lebbou, Brian M. Walsh, Marcel Poulain, Guillaume Alombert-Goget, et al.. Antimony oxide based glasses, novel laser materials. Optical Materials, 2017, 65, pp.8--14. ⟨10.1016/j.optmat.2016.11.017⟩. ⟨hal-01515140⟩