On the lasing potency of samarium-activated BaSO4–TeO2–B2O3 glass host: Judd–Ofelt analysis

Abstract

The quest for optimized rare earth glass host is ever-increasing. Multi-component telluro-borate glass matrices are excellent rare earth host due to their unique spectroscopic traits. Inspired by this idea, a series of (70-y)B2O3–15BaSO4–15TeO2–ySm2O3 glasses were fabricated using melt-quenching method. The measured spectroscopic features were complemented by Judd–Ofelt (JO) analysis. The absorption spectra of as-quenched samples revealed nine bands in the ultraviolet–near-infrared regions. The photoluminescence (PL) emission spectra displayed four emission channels: moderate green, orange, moderate red, and a weak red emission of Sm3+ transitions. The observed quenching in the PL intensity of the glasses prepared with y > 1.0 mol% was attributed to the binary cross-relaxation mechanisms. The calculated JO intensity parameters Ω2, Ω4, and Ω6 were ranged from 1.48 to 4.20 (× 10−20 cm2), 2.31–4.31 (× 10−20 cm2) and 1.15–1.99 (× 10−20 cm2), respectively. Moreover, the small values of Ω2 disclosed the weak covalent nature of network co-ordination in the neighborhood of Sm3+ sites. The 4G5/2 to 6H7/2 transition of Sm3+ disclosed the highest branching ratio (68.8%), emission cross section (75.90 × 10−23 cm2), gain bandwidth (167.69 × 10−29 cm3), and optical gain (172.01 × 10−26 cm2 s−1) for BSTBSm0.5 glass. Briefly, the proposed glass composition may be a potential host for visible waveguide laser application.