Ho3+-activated calcium zinc silico-aluminate glass for 2 µm and 533 nm laser application

Abstract

This study reports the synthesis and property analysis (thermal, mechanical, physical, and luminescence) of Ho3+ doped Calcium Zinc Silico-Aluminate glasses (CZSAHoy; y = 0.1, 0.4, 0.8, and 1.6 mol% ) which are prepared by melt quenching technique. All the synthesized glass samples show good thermal stability (ΔT=134–158 °C), elastic modulus (E = 110–115 GPa), and hardness (Hv=7.16–7.45 GPa) properties. The intensity of emission peaks at 2 µm and 553 nm is increased up to 0.8 mol% of Ho2O3 and beyond this concentration, quenching effect is dominated due to ion-ion interactions. By analyzing luminescence properties along with thermal and mechanical properties, the CZSAHo0.8 glass displays optimum properties. The broad emission bandwidth of 180 nm with high gain coefficient of 1.55 cm−1 and low pumping laser threshold (population inversion, p ≥ 0.4) for 2 µm emission from CZSAHo0.8 glass can be considered as suitable for fiber laser/amplifier application. Further, the high stimulated peak emission cross-section value of 6.59 × 10−21 cm2 and color purity (98.9%) of CZSAHo0.8 glass for 553 nm emission makes it suitable for green laser application.