Lead fluoroborate glasses doped with Nd3+

Results of absorption, emission and fluorescence lifetime (for the F-4(3/2) --> I-4(11/2) transition) are presented for a new lead fluoroborate glass doped with different concentrations of Nd2O3 varying from 0.04 up to 3.49 wt%. The calculated Judd-Ofelt parameters are: (1.7 +/- 0.1) x 10(-20) cm(2), (3.4 +/- 0.3) x 10(-20) cm(2), (3.6 +/- 0.3) x 10(-20) cm(2). Branching ratios calculations show that the F-4(3/2) --> I-4(11/2) transition has the most potential for laser applications. The best spectroscopic performance was obtained for the sample doped with 1.75 wt% of Nd2O3: emission cross-section of 3.6 x 10(-20) cm(2) at 1060 nm, fluorescence lifetime of 0.06 ms and effective fluorescence bandwidth of 30.43 nm. The samples have high refractive index of 2.2 and a density of about 6.9 g/cm(3). Concentration quenching was observed at 3.49 wt%. The results obtained suggest that this new material can be considered as an interesting candidate for laser applications with similar properties when compared to other known glasses used as laser media. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.