Effect of Ho3+ concentration on the luminescent and thermal stability of tellurite glasses

•Thermal and optical properties of Ho3+ doped tellurite glasses were studied.•Thermal stability values increase up to 26% with the addition of Ho3+.•Both thermal and optical properties seem to be directly related to each other. It is well known that optical properties of soft glasses can be improved by modifying the glass matrix or the lanthanides ions concentration. However, in the case of soft glasses doped with Ho3+ ions the information is limited to a few manuscripts that deals mainly with optical properties, neglecting the effect that could have in thermal properties. The present work shows the fabrication and characterization of Ho3+ doped tellurite glass samples ((78-x)TeO2 - 10Nb2O5 - 10TiO2 - 2Al2O3 - xHo2O3, where x = 0, 0.5, 1, 2 and 3 mol.%), prepared by melting and quenching technique. Differential scanning calorimetry were measured. In order to observe the characteristic energy levels of Ho3+ ions, UV-Visible absorption spectra and luminescence spectra under 488 nm excitation were recorded. The results showed that the incorporation of Ho3+ has a positive influence on thermal and luminescent properties as the Ho3+ concentration increases up 0 to 2 mol.%. [Display omitted]