Impact of Sm3+ ions on structural, thermal, optical and photoluminescence properties of ZnO–Na2O–PbO–B2O3 glasses for optoelectronics device applications

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This work describes the impact of trivalent samarium (Sm3+) ions concentrations on the thermal, structural, physical, optical and photoluminescence (PL) characteristics in Zinc Sodium Lead Borate (ZnNaPbB) glasses with configuration (70-x) B2O3–10PbO–10ZnO–10Na2CO3-xSm2O3, (where x = 0.1–2.0 mol%). The glass samples were synthesized using a traditional melt-quench technique and characterized by various spectroscopic methods such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR), UV–Vis–NIR spectra, Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and PL emission-excitation spectra to illuminate their photonic applications. The broad band perceived in the XRD diffractogram confirmed the amorphous nature of an un-doped ZnNaPbB glass. The physical properties including thickness, density, molar volume, dielectric constant, rare earth (RE) ion concentration, field strength and molecular electronic polarizability, etc. were calculated from the standard formulae. The FT-IR spectra identify the presence of stretching vibration in BO3 and BO4 units with some additional structural and functional groups with their bond nature. The observed DSC data was used to estimate the glass transition temperature (Tg). The absorption spectra presented all the probable transitions of Sm3+ ion-doped ZnNaPbB glass and the optical band gaps were computed using Tauc's method. All the glass samples depicted band gap values over 3 eV, proving that the material is insulating. The absorption spectra were utilized to evaluate Judd-Ofelt (J-O) parameters which were further used in different radiative parameters calculations to find the luminous levels of Sm3+ ions doped ZnNaPbB glasses. The PL emission spectra of the present ZnNaPbBSm glasses parade four bands parallel to the transitions 4G5/2 to 6H5/2 (563 nm), 6H7/2 (599 nm), 6H9/2 (646 nm) and 6H11/2 (706 nm), respectively. Additionally, the evaluated values of the emission cross-section and branching ratios describe the suitability of the present ZnNaPbBSm glasses for optoelectronic applications. Further, the colorimetric parameters such as CIE coordinates (x, y) and correlated color temperature (CCT) were evaluated using PL emission data and the measured CIE coordinates are found in the reddish-orange region for the present glasses. The time decay profiles of as-prepared glasses were used to evaluate the experimental lifetime, energy transfer parameter and type of donor-acceptor interaction. The Dexter theory and Inokuti-Hirayama (I–H) fitting are used to recognize the type of interaction in non-radiative energy transfer which is responsible for the concentration quenching. The result demonstrates that the as-prepared ZnNaPbBSm glasses are applicable for optoelectronics device applications.