Influence of Composition of Sm_2O_3-Containing Rare Earth Glass on Its Absorption Spectrum

Borosilicate glass with high rare earth content was fabricated by traditional method. The influence of glass compositions and rare earth content on absorption spectra was examined and discussed. With increasing Sm2O3 content, the intensity of characteristic absorption peak is increased and the absorption peak is broadened. With increasing of the ratios of SiO2/B2O3 and Al2O3/SiO2, the broadening degree of absorption peak is increased. The experimental results provide basis for making special optical glasses which have the characteristics of high absorption for special wavelength laser and high transparence for visible light.

Local vibration around rare earth ions in alkaline earth fluorosilicate transparent glass and glass ceramics using Eu^(3+) probe

By heat treating the alkaline earth fluorosilicate glass, transparent glass ceramics containing alkaline earth fluoride nanocrystallites were prepared. The luminescence spectra and phonon sideband associated with the Eu^3＋：^5D2→^7F0 in glass and glass ceramics were investigated to analyze the local environment around Eu^3＋. Judd-Ofelt parameters were also calculated from emission spectra, which indicated that the Eu^3＋ ions entered the precipitated CaF2, SrF2, and BaF2 nanocrystallites. Heat treating could not pledge Eu^3＋ ions to coordinate with F^- in the precipitated MgF2 nanocrystallites, owing to the smaller radius of Mg^2＋ than that of Eu^3＋.

Effects of rare-earth elements on the glass-forming ability and mechanical properties of Cu_(46)Zr_(47-x)Al_7M_x(M = Ce,Pr,Tb,and Gd) bulk metallic glasses

Cu46Zr47-xA17Mx （M = Ce, Pr, Tb, and Gd） bulk metallic glassy （BMG） alloys were prepared by copper-mold vacuum suction casting. The effects of rare-earth elements on the glass-forming ability （GFA）, thermal stability, and mechanical properties of Cu46Zr47-xA17Mx were investigated. The GFA of Cu46Zr47-xA17Mx （M = Ce, Pr） alloys is dependent on the content of Ce and Pr, and the optimal content is 4 at.%. Cu46Zr47-xA17Thx（X = 2, 4, and 5） amorphous alloys with a diameter of 5 mm can be prepared. The GFA of Cu46Zr47-xA17Gdx（x = 2, 4, and 5） increases with increasing Gd. Tx and Tp of all decrease. Tg is dependent on the rare-earth element and its content. ATx for most of these alloys decreases except the Cu46Zra2Al7Gd5 alloy. The activation energies △Eg, △Ex, and △Ep for the Cu46Zr42A17Gd5 BMG alloy with Kissinger equations are 340.7, 211.3, and 211.3 kJ/mol, respectively. These values with Ozawa equations are 334.8, 210.3, and 210.3 kJ/mol, respec- tively. The Cu46Zr45Al7Tb2 alloy presents the highest microhardness, Hv 590, while the Cu46Zr43A17Pr4 alloy presents the least, Hv 479. The compressive strength （at.f.） of the Cu46Zra3A17Gd4 BMG alloy is higher than that of the Cu46Zr43Al7Tb4 BMG alloy.

NMR Study on Structural Characteristics of Rare Earth Doped Boro-Alumino-Silicate Glasses

The structural characteristics of Re2O3 doped B2O3-Al2O3-SiO2 glasses and factors such as the component and heat-treating conditions affecting the glass structure were investigated by magic angle spin nuclear magnetic resonance （MAS NMR） spectroscopy and differential thermal analysis （DTA）. It is found that, in B2O3-Al2O3-SiO2 glass, the boron （4）, and Al（5）, Al（6） changes to Al（4）. On the other hand, compared with Ba^2＋ , RE^3＋ can accumulate the boron network because of its higher field strength, which results in a large network structure. With the increase of samarium oxide, the silicate coordination Qa（3T） will have predominance gradually. Heat-treatment has little effect on the boron and aluminum coordination sites in the glass structure.

Thermal and Structural Characterization of Transparent Rare-Earth Doped Lead Fluoride Glass-Ceramics

The devitrification of glasses with composition 50GeO2-40PbO-10PbF2-xREF3, RE = Gd, Eu, 0 3+: β-PbF2 nanocrystals embedded in a glassy oxide matrix. This transformation is investigated using thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. A comparison with RE3+: β-PbF2 ceramics prepared by standard ceramic techniques is performed. The Rare Earth cations show a strong nucleating effect for the precipitation of the RE3++: β-PbF2 nanocrystals. The evolution of the unit cell parameters of the REF3: β-PbF2 solid solution results from a combined effect of Pb2+-RE3+ substitution and interstitial F– introduction. In the glass ceramics, RE3+: β-PbF2 nanocrystals are constrained by the glassy matrix when they form with a pressure equivalent to 1.6 GPa. The constrained nanocrystals can return to a relaxed state by chemical dissolution of the embedding glassy matrix, followed by thermal treatments.

FLUORIDE GLASSES CONTAINING RARE EARTH

Fluoride glasses containing rare earths exhibit interesting spectroscopic properties.They have wide transmission range from 0.25μm in the UV to 7μm in the IR,allowing observation,in a vitreous material,of absorption and emission bands in a large optical range.The absorption spectra of fluoride glasses with rare earth substitutions are found to vary with the rare earth ions used.The T_g~'s for these glasses average out at 311℃.Optical properties,such as refractive indices are not obviously influenced by rare earth substitutions.

Preparation and Thermal Stability of Phosphate System Protection Glasses Doped with Rare Earths

The formation ability and thermal stability of phosphate laser protection glass doped with high Sm2O3 content were discussed. The characteristic temperatures ( Tg, Tc, Tm) were measured by DSC and the crystallization parameter β was calculated. The results show that the forming regions would shrink and tend to closed ellipse with increasing of Sm2O3 content. Increasing of BaO/Al2O3 ratio changes the network structure of rare earth glass and improves the thermal stability finally. However, with the increasing of Sm2O3 content, the β increases firstly and then decreases, and finally the thermal stability also increases firstly and then decreases.

Studies on the Preparation and Properties of AIF_3－based Rare Earth Fluoride Glass

AlF3-REF3-AEF2 (RE: rare earth, AE: alkali earth) system fluoride glasses were prepared by quenching melts. The glass forming region of AlF3NdF3-(Mg0.25Ca0.25Sr0.25Ba0.25) F2 system was determined. Effects of AE and RE fluoride on the glass forming ability and thermal properties of the system have been discussed. The IR cut-off wavelength of AIF3-REF3-AEF3 glass is about 7 μm. This system has many advantages, such as low refractive index, high Abbe number, high Tg and Tc-Tg values, and good chemical durability, etc. This is a kind of new excellent ultra-low loss optical fiber and IR optical material.

Glass-forming Ability and Chemical Stability of Magneto-optical Glass Heavily Doped with Rare Earth Oxide

The glass-forming region of B2O3-Al2O3-SiO2 （BAS） glass heavily doped with rare earth oxides was investigated by an effective method, and the chemical stability was investigated by powder method. Influences of rare earth oxides on the glass-forming ability and the chemical stability of the BAS glass were also discussed. The experimental results show that the BAS glass-forming region expands firstly with the increase of the Tb2O3 content up to 30mol% and then shrinks. The acid-resistant capacity of the BAS glass doped with rare earth oxides is the lowest, the water-resistant capacity is secondary, and the alkali-resistant capacity is the best. Besides, the glass chemical stability can be improved by doping appropriate amount of rare earth oxides. Moreover, the stronger the ionic polarization ability of the rare earth ions is, the better the chemical stability of the BAS glass will be.

Effect of Rare Earth on the Crystallization Behavior of Li_2O-Al_2O_3-SiO_2 Glass-ceramic

X-ray powder diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were applied for characterization of Li2O-Al2O3-SiO2 glass-ceramic powders doped with Eu2O3,Gd2O3 and Er2O3,respectively,in the conditions of different heat-treatment temperatures and with various amounts.The powders were derived from the polyacrylamide gel method.The results show that,the wet gels prepared by polyacrylamide perform a unique crystallization behavior in the process of drying,comparing with some customary preparation such as melt processing.The main crystal phase and crystallization sequence of Li2O-Al2O3-SiO2 micro-powders have no distinct with addition of Eu2O3,Gd2O3 or Er2O3,while the crystallization temperature of the β-spodumene decreased and the amount of the β-spodumene increased.

Effects of rare earth addition on sintering process and dielectric property of cordierite based glass-ceramics

The effects of rare earth oxide on the sintering and dielectric property of cordierite-based glass-ceramics with non-stoichiometric composition prepared by quenching of molten droplets were investigated. The results show that the addition of rare earth oxide can lower the sintering temperature of cordierite glass-ceramics, improve the densification process and obviously reduce sintering activation energy. It is found that the densification of cordierite-based glass-ceramics is a liquid phase sintering process. The dielectric constant of the sintered compacts enhances with the increase of the density. When the sintering temperature is identical, the rare earth addition is found to have a noticeable effect on the dielectric loss of glass-ceramics. The properties of the glass-ceramics containing rare earth oxide appear to be correct for low firing temperature substrates.

Three-color upconversion luminescence of rare earth codoped oxyhalide tellurite glasses

The red, green, and blue upconversion properties of Er^3＋/Tm^3＋/Yb^3＋-codoped oxyhalide tellurite glasses were studied under 980 nm LD excitation. The intense red （657 nm）, green （530 and 545 nm）, and blue （476 nm） emissions were simultaneously observed at room temperature. The results showed that the mixed halide modified tellurite glass （TZFCB） had strong upconversion emissions. The effect of halide on upconversion intensity was observed and discussed, and possible upconversion mechanisms were evaluated. The intense red, green, and blue upconversion luminescence of Er^3＋/Tm^3＋/Yb^3＋-codoped oxyhalide tellurite glasses might be a potentially useful material for developing three-dimensional displays applications.

Fabrication and Characterization of Glass-Ceramics Doped with Rare Earth Oxide and Heavy Metal Oxide

Cordierite-based glass-ceramics with non-stoichiometric composition doped with rare earth oxide (REO_2) and heavy metal oxide (M_2O_3) respectively were fabricated from glass powders. After sintering and crystallization heat treatment, various physical properties, including compact density and apparent porosity, were examined to evaluate the sintering behavior of cordierite-based glass-ceramics. Results show that the additives both heavy metal oxide and rare earth oxide promote the sintering and lower the phase temperature from μ- to α-cordierite as well as affect the dielectric properties of sintered glass-ceramics. The complete-densification temperature for samples is as low as 900 ℃. The materials have a low dielectric constant (≈5), a low thermal expansion coefficient ((2.80～3.52)×10^(-6) ℃^(-1)) and a low dissipation factor (≤0.2%) and can be co-fired with high conductivity metals such as Au, Cu, Ag/Pd paste at low temperature (below 950 ℃), which makes it to be a promising material for low-temperature co-fired ceramic substrates.

Preparation and laser induced damage properties of rare earth doped BAS glass

Rare earth doped B2O3-Al2O3-SiO2 glass （RExBAS, x=5, 10, 20; RE=La, Sm） were prepared by solid state reaction method. Optical transmission spectra of such glass were characterized by ultraviolet spectrometers, and 1064 nm laser induced damage performance was investigated through the method of ＂1-on-1＂. The results indicated that there was a strong absorptive peak near 1064 nm in SmxBAS glass, the peak was enhanced with increasing x. While LaxBAS glass was transparent to 1064 nm laser, at the same time, the results of laser induced damage showed that the anti-laser induced damage performance of such glass was strengthened with the addition of rare earth oxide. Furthermore, the laser induced damage threshold （LIDT） of SmxBAS glass was significantly higher than that of LaxBAS glass. Consequently, Sm^3＋ doping was favor in the improvement of anti-laser induced damage performance for BAS glass.

Spectroscopic investigations and luminescence spectra of Sm3+ doped soda lime silicate glasses

Sm3+ doped soda lime silicate glasses co-doped with As2O3 were prepared and characterised by measuring their absorption spectra in UV-VIS/NIR regions and luminescence spectra in the visible region. Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters, Ωλ, were evaluated from the measured intensities of the various absorption bands. Ωλ parameters of these glasses were compared with the Ωλ parameters of other reported Sm3+ glasses to study the bonding environment surrounding the Sm3+ in the present glasses. Presence of [AsO4]3– tetrahedra in the second coordination sphere around the central Sm3+ ion made these glasses less covalent as compared to other oxide glasses but the ratio Ω4/Ω6 of the 1.83 indicated them to be fairly stable. With the help of Ωλ parameters and luminescence data for various emission lines, radiative properties for different emission lines were calculated. The values of radiative properties indicated that 4G5/2→6H7/2 and 4G5/2→6H9/2 transitions responsible for orange luminescence might be used in the development of materials for LED's and other optical devices in the visible region.

Research on Up-Conversion Mechanism in Er^(3+)/Yb^(3+)-Codoped Oxyfluoride Glass

Er3 +/Yb3 +-codoped oxyfluoride crystallite glass was prepared with melting technique. The compositions and the melting temperature and the annealing temperature of the rare earth-doped crystallite glass were studied in detail. The emission spectra of samples were measured with the Hitachi F-4500 fluorescent photometer pumped by 980 nm wavelength laser. The up-conversion luminescence mechanism was illuminated on the view of the photophysics. By measuring the relationship between luminescent intensity and pump power, it is confirmed that the emission peaks at 550 nm belong to two-photon process, while that at 665 nm belongs to three-photon process. Moreover, the distributions of crystalline were determined by SEM.

Luminescence of Er^(3+) in Oxyfluoride Transparent Glass-Ceramics

Erbium doped silicate, germanate, and tellurium-germanate oxyfluoride glasses were prepared in a bulk form. Through appropriate heat treatment of the as-prepared glasses, transparent glass-ceramics （TGCs） were obtained with the formation of β-PbF2：Er^3＋ nanocrystals in the glass matrix were confirmed by X-ray diffraction.Well-defined diffraction peaks were observed in the samples after heat-treatment. The average crystal diameter of these precipitated crystals from full-width at half-maximum （FWHM） of the diffraction peak was estimated to be between 8 and 13 nm. Optical absorption, photoluminescence, and upconversion luminescence were measured on as-prepared glass and glass-ceramics. Luminescence spectra in the TGC samples revealed well-resolved, sharp stark-splitting peaks, which indicates that a majority of Er^3＋ ions has been incorporated into the crystalline phase of the nanocrystals. The intensity of the visible and near infrared luminescence mostly increases in TSG compared to that in the as-prepared glass. In 1.53 μm absorption and emission bands, the maximum absorption peak is blue-shifted from 1531 to 1507 nm, whereas the maximum emission peak is redshifted from 1535 to 1543 nm in TGC, as compared with that in glass. The bandwidth at half-maximum （BWHM） of the emission band is significantly broader in TGC than in glass, which is beneficial to the erbium-doped fiber amplifier （EDFA）. Upconversion luminescence was measured using 800 nm near-infrared light excitation. Drastically increased upconversion 1 was observed from the TGC as compared to that from their corresponding as-prepared glasses. In addition to a strong green emission centered at 545 nm because of ^4S3/2→^4I15/2 transition and a weaker red emission centered at 662 nm because of ^4F9/2→^4I15/2 transition, generally seen from the Er^3＋ doped glasses, two violet emissions centered at 410 nm because of ^2H9/2→^4I15/2 transition and centered at 379 nm because of ^4G11/2→^4I15/2 transition were also observed from the was attributed to the decreased effective phonon energy and the increased energy transfer between the excited ions when Er^3＋ ions were incorporated into the precipitated β-PbF2 nanocrystals. The results indicated two attractive spectroscopic properties of the Er^3＋ doped TGC samples, compared to glass samples, namely a reduced multiphonon decay rate and a reduced inhomogeneous broadening. In addition, these oxyfluoride TGC materials were robust,easy and flexibile to process, and possible to be fabricated in the fiber form for device applications.

Spectral properties and energy transfer of Tm^(3+)/Ho^(3+)-codoped Ga_2O_3-Bi_2O_3-GeO_2-PbO glasses

The 2.0 μm emission originating from Ho^3＋：^5I7→^5I8 were investigated upon excitation with 808 nm laser diode （LD） transition in Ho^3＋/Tm^3＋-codoped gallate-bismuth-germanium-lead glasses Energy transfer （ET） process between Tm^3＋： ^3F4 level and Ho^3＋： ^5I7 level was also discussed. It was noted that the measured peak wavelength and stimulated emission cross-section of Ho^3＋-doped bismuth-germanium-lead glasses were -2.02 μm and 5.1×10^-21 cm^2, respectively. Intense emission of Ho^3＋ in Tm^3＋/Ho^3＋-codoped GBPG glass were observed, which resulted from the ET between Tm^3＋： ^3F4 and Ho^3＋： ^5I7 level upon excitation with 808 nm LD.

Investigation on energy transfer from Er^(3+) to Nd^(3+) in tellurite glass

A study of energy transfer of Er^3＋/Nd^3＋ codoped tellurite glasses was presented. By Nd^3＋ co-doping, both the Er^3＋ green emission corresponding to the Er^3＋： （^4S3/2, ^2H11/2）→^4I15/2 transitions and the red emission corresponding to the Er^3＋： ^4F9/2→^4I15/2 transitions were quenched. The energy transfer mechanism between Er^3＋ and Nd^3＋ was discussed based on their energy level characteristics. The interaction parameters, CO-A, for the energy transfer processes from Er^3＋ to Nd^3＋ in tellurites glass were calculated. Finally, the resonant transfer Er^3＋： ^4I9/2→Nd^3＋： （^4F5/2, ^2H9/2） was proposed to be the most probable microscopic process to occur in contrast with the other processes.

Luminescent properties of BaO-La_2O_3-B_2O_3 glasses with dopant

The luminescent properties of glasses synthesized in air atmosphere by conventional high temperature process were studied. The emissions spectra of Eu2+ and Eu3+ were observed in BaO-La2O3-B2O3-Eu2O3 glasses. The results show that the broad emission peaks at 430 nm correspond to 5d→4f emission transition of Eu2+, the sharp emission peaks at 592, 616, 650 and 750 nm correspond to 5D0→7Fj（j=1-4） emission transition of Eu3+, respectively, which indicates that the BaO-La2O3-B2O3-Eu2O3 glass can convert ultraviolet and green components of sunlight into blue and red light so as to increase the intensity of blue and red light, respectively. The luminescent intensity of Eu2+ increases with increasing the molar ratio of Tb3+ in BaO-La2O3-B2O3-Eu2O3-Tb4O7 glasses, whereas the luminescent intensity of Eu3+ decreases. So the luminescent intensity of Eu（III, II） is influenced by Tb3+. These phenomena can be explained by electron transfer mechanism: Eu3+（4f6）+Tb3+（4f8）→Eu2+（4f7）+Tb4+（4f7）. Taking advantage of the luminescent properties of BaO-La2O3-B2O3-Eu2O3 glasses, light-conversion glass for agriculture can be produced.