Structural and luminescence characterization of lithium-borosulfophosphate glasses containing dysprosium ions

Abstract

Rare earth doped glasses have been a great deal of research interest due to their prominent applications in laser lighting technology. However, achieving highly efficient yellow light emission from these materials require the collective efforts of many researchers across the world. Hence, a series of high optical quality dysprosium doped lithium-borosulfophosphate glasses with chemical composition of 15Li₂O-30B₂O₃-15SO_3-(40-x)P₂O_5-xDy₂O₃ (where x = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 1.0 in mol%) were prepared by convectional melt quenching technique and characterized by X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Photoluminescence (PL) measurements. XRD pattern of the host glass confirms its amorphous nature while the results from FTIR spectra analysis indicates the presence of BO₃, BO₄, PO₄ and SO₄^2- groups in the host network structure. The photoluminescence spectral analysis revealed three emission bands at 494 nm, 585 nm and 673 nm attributed to the electronic transitions of ⁴F_9/2→⁶H_15/2, ⁴F_9/2→⁶H_13/2 and ⁴F_9/2→⁶H_15/2,respectively, under the excitation of 386 nm. Among all the prepared glass samples, 1.0 mol% Dy³⁺ contained glass sample exhibits an intense yellow emission at 585 nm which specifies its prospective suitability for yellow laser applications.

Keywords: Borosulfophosphate glasses, Dysprosium ions, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Photoluminescence analysis