Luminescence behavior of Nd3+-activated soda-lime-borate glasses for solid-state lasers applications

In this work, Nd3+-activated soda-lime-borate (SLBNd) glasses are prepared in a composition (65-x) B:10CaO:25Na2O:xNd2O3 (where x=0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5mol%) by conventional melt-quenching technique, which is its novel study for laser application. The prepared samples are studied by absorption and near-infrared (NIR) luminescence emission spectra and decay-time analysis. The Judd–Ofelt (JO) intensity parameter, Ωλ (λ=2, 4, 6), and radiative properties of the 4F3/2 level of Nd3+ ion are calculated from absorption spectra using JO theory. At 585-nm excitation wavelength, strong NIR emission, at 1.069μm, is observed corresponding to the 4F3/2→4I11/2, for all glass samples. Decay constants are found to be decreasing with increasing Nd3+ concentration due to the energy transfer through cross-relaxation process. The stimulated-emission cross-section (σ(λp), experimental branching ratio (βexp), gain bandwidth, and quantum efficiency (η) are measured as 4.0×10−20cm2, 68%, 1.48×10−25cm3 and 65%, respectively. Presented results revealed that Nd3+-activated soda-lime-borate glasses could be useful for 1.06-μm laser application.