Thermo-optical properties of OH-free erbium-doped low silica calcium aluminosilicate glasses measured by thermal lens technique

Thermal lens spectrometry (TLS) of thermo-optical properties of low silica content calcium aluminosilicate glasses (27.1Al2O3, 58.1CaO, 7.9SiO2 and 6.9MgO in mol%) was performed. The thermal diffusivity was 5.7×10−3 cm2/s for undoped sample and 4.7×10−3 cm2/s for 1.48 mol% Er2O3-doped one. The ds/dT for undoped samples was 8.6±0.1×10−6 K−1. The thermal conductivity was around 14 mW/cm K with some dependence on Er2O3 concentration. The fraction of the absorbed energy converted into heat by Er2O3-doped samples was about 60%.