Influence of Eu3+ ions on nonlinear optical properties of alklai borate glasses at near-infrared wavelengths

Optical glasses with enhanced third order nonlinear attributes are promsing materials for photonic applications, particularly for optical limiting and switching devices. With the aim of obtaining enhanced nonlinear optical (NLO) properties, Eu3+ doped borate glasses have been prepared through method of melt quench. NLO properties of fabricated glasses were investigated using Z‒scan techinique as a function of Eu2O3 concentration at near-infrared (NIR) wavelength (800 nm) by utilising 150 femtosecond (fs) laser pulses generated at a repetetion rate of 80 MHz from sapphire laser. The investigated glasses demonstrated a reverse saturable absorption (RSA) type of behaviour in open aperture (OA) configuration and positive nonlinear refraction in closed aperture (CA) configuration. The retrieved NLO coefficients evidently demonstrate the studied glasses are competing materials for photonic applications under fs regime.