Third-order nonlinear optical properties of Sm2O3 activated cadmium alkali borate glasses

Efficacy of tri‒valent samarium ions concentration on the optical and third‒order nonlinear optical (NLO) properties of multicomponent cadmium alkali borate‒based glasses prepared by standard melting‒quenching method has been investigated in this work. The optical properties of cadmium alkali borate glass activated by rare-earth oxide (i.e., Sm2O3) were carried out by using UV–Visible absorption spectroscopy at room temperature. Optical absorption peaks were obtained around 402 nm, 1076 nm, and 1078 nm wavelength. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy results revealed the existence of distinct borate units, in the structure of glasses used in the investigation. Z‒scan experiments in the near‒infrared (NIR) spectral regions utilizing the femtosecond (fs) laser pulses were used in order to evaluate the NLO parameters. The two‒photon absorption coefficient and the index of nonlinear refraction values improved significantly for 2 mol% of Sm2O3. This endorses 2 mol% of Sm2O3 encompassed glasses are beneficial for constructing the NLO devices assigned to perform in the NIR region. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.