Thermo-mechanical and optical properties of calcium aluminosilicate glasses doped with Er3+ and Yb3+

In this work a series of Er2O3 and Yb2O3 doped and Er2O3–Yb2O3 co-doped low silica calcium aluminosilicate glasses have been melted at 1470°C under vacuum conditions. Measurements of optical absorption coefficient, mass density, refractive index, Vickers micro-hardness, glass transformation temperature (Tg) and crystallization temperature (Tx) have been carried out. The results showed that these glasses dissolved ∼1.5 mol% Er2O3 and ∼1.1 mol% Yb2O3 in their structure without devitrification and also that only small changes (∼10%) have been measured in their thermal, mechanical and optical properties.