Enhanced near-infrared femtosecond nonlinear optical properties in zinc borate glasses activated with Er2O3

Abstract

Several advanced materials have been investigated for nonlinear optical device applications. However, oxide glasses are competing materials in contrast to those advanced materials due to ease of preparation in three dimensions with diverse shapes along with flexibility in choosing the composition which is essential to tune the nonlinear optical features for specific applications. Doping rare-earth ions is one of the methods used to tune the nonlinear optical features of glass specimens, and it has been explored extensively in recent years. Using femtosecond laser pulses, the effect of Er2O3 concentration on nonlinear optical characteristics such as nonlinear absorption, nonlinear refraction, and optical limiting qualities was investigated using the Z-scan approach. The dual photon absorption and self‒focusing refraction nonlinear magnitudes are improved as the function of Er2O3 content owing to the formation of non‒bridging oxygens and enhancement in polarizability of glasses while the optical limiting features were decreased. These nonlinear absorptions and optical limiting results endorse the high Er2O3 loaded glasses are beneficial for nonlinear photonic devices functioning in the near-infrared regions.