Titania nanoparticles embedded Er3+-Sm3+ co-doped sulfophosphate glass: Judd-Ofelt parameters and spectroscopic properties enhancement

Abstract

The conventional melt quenching method was used to synthesis erbium and samarium ions co-doped sulfophosphate glasses containing TiO2 nanoparticles with the molar compositions of (58.0-x)P2O5-20.0MgO-20.0ZnSO4-1.0Sm2O3-1.0Er2O3-xTiO2 with x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0 mol%. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique was applied to verify that the nature of fabricated glass samples is of amorphous type. Judd-Ofelt (JO) intensity (Ωi) parameters were determined through spectral data provided in the investigations conducted on the optical absorption. The applied JO parameterization illustrates the covalency related to rare-earth (RE) ions and ligands. For some given lasing levels, the radiative parameters were estimated including branching ratios (βR), radiative lifetimes (τR), and radiative transition probabilities (A). The photoluminescence spectra provided in some studies are used to evaluate the stimulated emission cross-sections (σpE) for some important lasing transitions including 4G5/2→6H5/2, 4G5/2→6H7/2, and 4G5/2→6H9/2. The determined radiative parameters are potential options as a candidate for lasing.