Luminescence quenching and recovering in photo-thermo-refractive silver-ion doped glasses

•After nanosecond laser irradiation at 355nm a luminescence quenching was observed in the irradiated region.•The thermal treatment below glass transition temperature restores the luminescence of silver molecular clusters with complex spatial distribution of luminescence intensity inside the irradiated region.•UV lamp irradiation achieves the same result without any inhomogeneity. A spectroscopic investigation of luminescent centers transformation in photo-thermo-refractive glass by using ultraviolet (UV) nanosecond laser pulses with radiation wavelength 355nm was performed. Initially the glass was irradiated by UV lamp and thermal-treated that causes a neutral silver molecular clusters luminescence in a visible spectral region. After the laser irradiation a luminescence quenching was observed in the irradiated region. The thermal treatment below glass transition temperature restores the luminescence of silver molecular clusters with complex spatial distribution of luminescence intensity inside the irradiated region. UV lamp irradiation achieves the same result without any inhomogeneity. The observed effects are caused by photoionization and reduction of subnanosized silver molecular clusters with the participation of cerium and antimony ions.