New insights on luminescence properties and radiation shielding features of Ag/Sm3+co-doped fluoro-tellurite glasses and glass-ceramics

This study explores the prospect of Ag/Sm3+ co-doped fluoro-tellurite glasses for photonic lasers and radiation shielding applications. A structural analysis using X-ray diffraction revealed that the typical amorphous nature of the glasses was affected for high Ag concentrations. A complementary analysis with the transmission electron microscope offers conclusive proof of the homogeneous distribution of silver nanoclusters within the amorphous structure of the examined glass. The Judd-Ofelt calculation suggests enhanced stiffness while less covalence for the Sm3+ ion environment when Ag2O is added to the matrix. The inclusion of Ag into the glass structure resulted also in an enhanced Sm3+ emission intensity, which is attributed to the progress of either the size or the concentration of the formed molecular-like (ML)-Ag species. The assessed radiative and lasing characteristics highlight the potential of the Ag1.5 glass sample as phosphor for reddish-orange displays. This conclusion is reinforced by the obtained CIE-1931 chromaticity diagram and the correlated color temperature (CCT). The incorporation of larger quantities of Ag2O into the fluoro-tellurite glasses has significantly enhanced their shielding capabilities. For instance, the Ag2 glass sample stands out as the most space-efficient glass among the investigated tellurite shielding materials, as it exhibits the highest Linear Attenuation Coefficient (LAC) and effective atomic number (Zeff) values while maintaining the smallest Half-Value Layer (HVL) values.