Linear and nonlinear optical characterization of neodymium doped barium-zinc-borate glasses

Nd3+ ions doped Barium-Zinc-Borate glasses with compositions xNd2O3-(100-x)[0.1BaO-0.4ZnO-0.5B2O3]; x = 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 have been prepared by melt quench technique. The values of optical energy band gap (Eg), estimated from Tauc’s plots, are observed to decrease with the increase in Nd2O3 content. The nonlinear optical properties of glass samples have been investigated by Z-scan method with nanosecond pulsed laser at∼532 nm in both open and close aperture geometries. The values of two photon absorption coefficient (β) and nonlinear refractive index (n2) have been estimated by fitting of experimentally observed data with theoretical model and both are found to increase with the increase in Nd3+ ions concentration in the glass matrix.