Abstract
A new glass with a composition of 40P(2)O(5)-30ZnO-20LiCl-10BaF(2) (in mol%), doped with 3.5Nd(2)O(3)-3.5Yb(2)O(3), was fabricated by the quenching melt technique. The luminescence (PL) and gamma spectroscopy of the glass were investigated systematically. The spectroscopic parameters of the prepared glass, such as the optical energy gap, Judd-Ofelt parameters Omega(k) (where k = 2, 4 and 6), lifetimes and branching ratio of the Nd3+/Yb3+ level, were evaluated. Moreover, the shielding parameters, such as the linear and mass attenuation coefficients, mean free path and half-value layer, were evaluated. The prepared glass had a spectroscopic quality factor (Omega(4)/Omega(6)) of 0.84, which is about three-times larger than that of the most standard laser host, Nd3+:YAG. The energy of the 2P1/2 (Nd3+) level (similar to 23,250 cm(-1)) was twice the energy of the Yb3+ transition (similar to 10,290 cm(-1)). The value of the emission cross section (sigma(em)(lambda)) of Nd3+:F-4(3/2)-> I-4(9/2) and Yb3+:F-2(5/2)-> F-2(7/2) were 2.23 x 10(-24) cm(2) and 2.88 x 10(-24) cm(2), respectively. The fabricated glass had a high emission cross section and low mean free path parameters, which makes the fabricated glass a potential candidate for multifunctional applications, such as laser emissions for medical purposes.