Spectroscopy Study of Sm3+ Doped Fluorosilicate Glasses for Orange Emission Solid-State Device Application

Glass samples with formula as Li2O-BaO-GdF3-SiO2:Sm2O3 were fabricated by melt quenching method. Their optical, physical and luminescence properties were studied, for their potential applications in photonic device working in visible region. The Sm3+ ions and nearby ligands bonding nature were determined from bonding parameters (delta) that in turn were calculated from LGF absorption spectra. Oscillator strength of different absorption bands and Judd-Ofelt (JO) parameters (ohm(lambda) (lambda = 2, 4, 6)) were measured. JO-parameters and refractive index have been used to valuate various radiative properties of Sm3+ ions emission transitions in prepared glasses to explore their potential application as visible lasers. Furthermore, the emission was studied by exciting the LGF glass samples with different wavelengths (lambda(ex) = 275, 402 nm). The orange to red ratios at different wavelengths (lambda(ex) = 275 nm and X-ray) were evaluated to measure the Sm3+-ions local disorder in the glass network. The decreasing trend in experimental decay time (tau(exp)) with Sm3+-ion concentration increasing was observed due to energy transfer. Best fit for the prepared glass, when studied in the light of Inokuti-Hirayama model was obtained for S = 6 indicating dipole-dipole type of energy transfer. The intense visible (orange) emission, high stimulated emission cross-section (sigma(e)), branching ratios (beta(R)), radiative transition probability (A(R)), and reasonable quantum efficiency were determined for transition from (4)G(5/2) to H-6(7/2) in glass. This suggests Sm3+ doped glass shows potential use for development of devices (laser and photonic) working in visible (orange) region.