Multifunctional praseodymium-doped composite silica glasses for UV shielding and photonic applications

Abstract

Silica phosphate glasses strengthened with calcium oxide modifier and doped with different concentrations (0%, 0.5%, 1%, 1.5 mol%) of praseodymium (Pr3+) were synthesized by sol-gel method. The absence of sharp peaks in the x-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra confirms non-crystallinity of the glasses. Higher doping indicates increasing optical band gaps due to Burstein Moss shift, which also reflects on structural disorders at the absorption tails as validated by Urbach’s rule. The density increases with a subsequent decrease in oxygen packing density, proving the mechanical and chemical stability of the glasses. The composite glasses are multifunctional with marked absorption at 280 nm predicting its purpose as UV shielding films. Luminescence corresponding to the intra 4f transition, 〖1_D〗_2→〖1_G〗_4 in the IR region, with high transmission and low reflection losses suggests the use of the synthesized glass material for S-band telecommunications, while the radiative process involving 〖3_P〗_0→〖3_F〗_2 yields a predominant red laser source. Commission International de l’Eclairage (CIE) color coordinates observe warmer red emission corresponding to Correlated Colour Temperature (CCT) of 3200 K. The composite silica phosphate glass systems evidence the effective role of Pr3+ for photonic applications.

Thermogravimetric and temperature-dependent electrical investigations of Pr3+ doped multi-component silicate glasses for microelectronic technology

“…This is due to the partial phase changes in the glass materials, leading to two crystallization events [34], but noticeably diminutive for the identification of the phases. The intensity of the crystallization peaks (T p1 and T p2 ) is very small (<0.4 a.u), which conforms to the amorphous attribute of the glass systems observed in the x-ray diffraction structural analysis as previously reported [27].…”

“…A similar tendency of the formation of non-bridging oxygen units and the associated defects, with the addition of dopants could be ascribed to the observed loss factor and the relaxation shift to higher frequencies, in the present system of glasses. This could be corroborated by the increase in the defects validated by Urbach energy up to 1 mol% of Pr 3+ in the glasses reported earlier [27]. However, the behavior deviates in the glass doped with 1.5 mol% of Pr 3+ and presents a largely suppressed trend in the loss.…”

“…Hence based on a similar composition of bioactive glasses that was reported [26], our previous study was involved with a slight alteration of the composition to optimize the same, for optimal structural and optolectronic response. As such our previously reported work explicates the structural attributes and the applicability of the multi-component silica phosphate glass systems in optoelectronic sectors of telecommunication waveguides and lasers [27]. A preliminary examination of the glasses for their electrical behavior at room temperature was undertaken as part of the optimization procedure, and the results were found to be favorable [28].…”

Room Temperature Electrical Analysis of Pr3+-Doped Silicate Glasses for Energy Storage Applications

“…The glasses were synthesized as per the scheme reported [6]. The raw materials, namely tetra ethoxy orthosilicate, triethyl phosphate, calcium nitrate tetrahydrate, and praseodymium nitrate hexahydrate, were stirred vigorously for 2 h and left for gelation and aging for the formation of glass monoliths.…”

Structural and optical investigations of RE3+: Yb, Er, Sm, Nd, Ce-doped multi-functional silica glasses for photonic applications

“…The XRD diffraction patterns of all the synthesized glasses are shown in figure 1. XRD analysis of the samples revealed that the hydroxyapatite and tricalcium phases characteristic of the addition of calcium phosphate are absent, due to the larger molar ratio of silica added to the glass matrix [11,12]. The stereotypically sharp diffraction peaks resulting from the long-range ordering of lattices mark the crystalline attribute of a material.…”