Investigations on spectroscopic properties of Pr3+ and Nd3+ doped zinc-alumino-sodium-phosphate (ZANP) glasses

Zinc-alumino-sodium-phosphate (ZANP) glasses doped with rare earth metal ions (Nd3+ and Pr3+) with different concentrations (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 mol%) were prepared by melt quenching technique. X-ray diffraction, SEM with EDS, Raman spectra, FTIR-spectra, DTA, absorption and luminescence spectra were recorded at room temperature for all the glass matrices and analyzed. X-ray diffraction profiles and SEM images confirmed the amorphous nature of the glass samples. The EDS spectrum of doped and undoped glasses reveals the chemical composition present in them. Structural information of these glass matrices was provided by FTIR and Raman spectra. From DTA analysis, the glass transition temperature (Tg) and crystallization temperature (Tc) were determined. From the absorption spectra, the Judd–Ofelt (J–O) parameters, Ωλ (λ = 2, 4 and 6) and other radiative properties like transition probabilities (AR), radiative lifetimes (τR) and branching ratios (βR) were evaluated. Branching ratios and stimulated emission cross-sections show that 4F3/2 → 4I11/2 transition of Nd3+ ion and 3P0 → 3H4 transition of Pr3+ ion of the glasses under investigation have strong emission at 1060 and 490 nm respectively. The results obtained were compared with reports on similar glasses.