Transparent Yb3+ doped phosphate glass-ceramics

Abstract

Yb3+ doped oxyfluorophosphate glasses with the composition (98.75) [90NaPO3-(10-x) Na2O-xNaF] - 1.25Yb2O3 (in mol%) with x = 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 were prepared using a standard melting process. The progressive replacement of Na2O by NaF leads to an increase in the number of Q2 units at the expense of the Q1 units. This increase in the polymerization of the glass network leads to a shift of the optical band gap to lower wavelength, to a slight increase in the intensity of the emission at 1000 nm and more importantly to a change in the glass crystallization process. Indeed, both surface and bulk crystallization were observed in the glass with x = 0 while surface crystallization only occurs when NaF is added in the phosphate network. The heat treatment leads to the precipitation of at least three crystalline phases: as x increases, the NaPO3 phase grows at the expense of Na5P3O10. All glasses precipitate the Yb containing crystal, NaYbP2O7 which leads to an increase in the intensity of the emission at 1000 nm compared to the emission at 975 nm. We show for the first time to the best of our knowledge that transparent Yb3+ doped phosphate glass-ceramics can be obtained within this glass system when free of NaF.