Luminescence and Gamma Spectroscopy of Phosphate Glass Doped with Nd[sup.3+]/Yb[sup.3+] and Their Multifunctional Applications

A new glass with a composition of 40P[sub.2]O[sub.5]-30ZnO-20LiCl-10BaF[sub.2] (in mol%), doped with 3.5Nd[sub.2]O[sub.3]-3.5Yb[sub.2]O[sub.3], was fabricated by the quenching melt technique. The luminescence (PL) and gamma spectroscopy of the glass were investigated systematically. The spectroscopic parameters of the prepared glass, such as the optical energy gap, Judd–Ofelt parameters Ω[sub.k] (where k = 2, 4 and 6), lifetimes and branching ratio of the Nd[sup.3+]/Yb[sup.3+] level, were evaluated. Moreover, the shielding parameters, such as the linear and mass attenuation coefficients, mean free path and half-value layer, were evaluated. The prepared glass had a spectroscopic quality factor (Ω[sub.4]/Ω[sub.6]) of 0.84, which is about three-times larger than that of the most standard laser host, Nd[sup.3+]:YAG. The energy of the 2P1/2 (Nd[sup.3+]) level (~23,250 cm[sup.−1]) was twice the energy of the Yb[sup.3+] transition (~10,290 cm[sup.−1]). The value of the emission cross section (σ[sub.em](λ)) of Nd[sup.3+]:[sup.4]F[sub.3/2]→[sup.4]I[sub.9/2] and Yb[sup.3+]:[sup.2]F[sub.5/2]→[sup.2]F[sub.7/2] were 2.23 × 10[sup.−24] cm[sup.2] and 2.88 × 10[sup.−24] cm[sup.2], respectively. The fabricated glass had a high emission cross section and low mean free path parameters, which makes the fabricated glass a potential candidate for multifunctional applications, such as laser emissions for medical purposes.