Quantitative prediction of the glass‐forming region and luminescence properties in Tm³⁺‐doped germanate laser glasses

Abstract

Germanate laser glasses have received much attention as a promising host materials for mid‐infrared fiber lasers in recent years because of the outstanding infrared transparency, low phonon energy, and high rare earth solubility of such glasses. However, the development of high‐performance germanate laser glasses is usually based on intuition and a trial‐and‐error method, which can involve long experimental periods and high costs, and thus, this approach is highly inefficient. Recently, with proposals for materials genome engineering, the concept of the “glass genome” has grown of interest to us. Herein, the structures of Tm3+‐doped germanate laser glasses (BaO–GeO2 and BaO–La2O3–GeO2) were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) and Raman spectra analyses, which revealed that the resulting glass contains similar structural groups to the neighboring congruently melted glassy compounds (NCMGCs) in the composition diagram. What is more, the structure and properties of the resulting laser glasses largely depend on NCMGCs. Then, the glass‐forming region, physical properties, and luminescence properties were calculated via the use of NCMGCs in Tm3+‐doped BaO–GeO2 binary and BaO–La2O3–GeO2 ternary laser glass systems. The calculated results were in good agreement with the experimental results, thus demonstrating that our approach is practical for predicting the glass‐forming region, physical properties, and luminescence properties in Tm3+‐doped BaO–GeO2 binary and BaO–La2O3–GeO2 ternary laser glass systems. This work may provide an effective method to develop Tm3+‐doped germanate laser glasses rapidly and at low cost.

Quantitatively predicting the optical and spectroscopic properties of Nd3+‐doped laser glasses

“…This method is based on the basic theory of glass formation and avoids complex calculation coefficients in traditional additive methods. Previous works in our laboratory also proved that the structure and properties of laser glasses can be accurately predicted to a certain extent through this method 19–23 …”

“…Previous works in our laboratory also proved that the structure and properties of laser glasses can be accurately predicted to a certain extent through this method. [19][20][21][22][23] In this study, we aim to further study the adaptability and accuracy of this method for traditional laser glasses, such as silicate, phosphate, and borate glasses, particularly for the prediction of their spectroscopic properties. All these glass systems are derived from main components of commercial laser glasses commonly used in 1 μm solid laser and fiber laser.…”

The multicomponent oxide glass as a statistical ensemble of neighboring glassy compounds in the composition space

“…These approaches have successfully decoded the “glass genome” at different scales. Previously, we demonstrated that the glass‐forming ion‐centered coordination polyhedron of the resulting glass is similar to the coordination polyhedron of the neighboring glassy congruent compounds of the glass, which can be considered as the “glass genes.” 21,22 Moreover, the structure and luminescence properties of multicomponent oxide laser glasses have been quantitatively predicted based on the “glass genes.” 1,21,22 Nevertheless, this method lacks physical interpretation. In addition, this method is not suitable for all multicomponent oxide glass systems because some neighboring glassy congruent compounds of multicomponent oxide glass may not be possibly prepared by using the conventional melt‐quenching.…”

“…Previously, we demonstrated that the glass-forming ioncentered coordination polyhedron of the resulting glass is similar to the coordination polyhedron of the neighboring glassy congruent compounds of the glass, which can be considered as the "glass genes." 21,22 Moreover, the structure and luminescence properties of multicomponent oxide laser glasses have been quantitatively predicted based on the "glass genes." 1,21,22 Nevertheless, this method lacks physical interpretation.…”

“…21,22 Moreover, the structure and luminescence properties of multicomponent oxide laser glasses have been quantitatively predicted based on the "glass genes." 1,21,22 Nevertheless, this method lacks physical interpretation. In addition, this method is not suitable for all multicomponent oxide glass systems because some neighboring glassy congruent compounds of multicomponent oxide glass may not be possibly prepared by using the conventional melt-quenching.…”