Effect of Crystallization of Li 2O-Al 2O 3-SiO 2 Glasses on Luminescence Properties of Nd 3+ Ions

Abstract

Generally the preparation of lithium aluminosilicate (LAS) glasses is difficult on account of their high melting temperature. This research managed to prepare LAS glasses doped with Nd 3+ ions by the conventional melting and quenching technique, at a relatively low melting temperature and by the use of some additives. Lithium aluminosilicate glasses were transformed to glass-ceramics by controlled nucleation and the crystallization process. The characterizations were performed by differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction, UV-Vis-NIR scanning spectrophotometry, and fluorescence spectrometry. The research focused on the photoluminescence spectra of the initial glass and the glass-ceramics under different heat-treatment schedules. Three main fluorescence bands centering at about 890, 1065, and 1330 nm were observed, which corresponded to the transitions of 4F 3/2→ 4I 9/2, and 4F 3/2→ 4I 11/2, and 4F 3/2→ 4I 13/2, respectively. Phase compositions of glass-ceramics were found to affect their fluorescent characteristics considerably. The fluorescent intensity increased markedly when Nd 3+ ions entered the Li x Al x Si 1- x O 2 β-eucryptite solid solution (SS). Quenching occurred when Nd 3+ ions located at Li x Al x Si 3- x O 6 β-eucryptite SS. Quenching disappeared after Li x Al x Si 3- x O 6 β-eucryptite SS recrystallized into β-spodumene SS. The effectively induced cross section σ in of Nd 3+ ions located at the Li x Al x Si 1- x O 2 β-eucryptite SS was 1.931 × 10 −21 cm 2 at 1065 nm.