Dysprosium doped alkali fluoroborate glasses-Thermal, structural and optical investigations

Thermal, structural and optical properties of Dy3+-doped alkali fluoroborate glasses with composition (in mol%), 49B2O3+25XO+25NaF+1Dy2O3 (where X=Li2, Na2, K2, Mg and Ca), have been investigated. Thermal analysis revealed the homogeneous formation of the glasses. The FTIR spectra reveal that the glasses contain BO3, BO4 non-bridging oxygen atoms and strong OH- bonds. From the optical absorption spectra, Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters (Ωλ, λ=2, 4 and 6) have been evaluated and are in turn used to predict radiative properties such as radiative transition probability (A), stimulated emission cross-section (σPE) and branching ratios (βR) for the excited levels of Dy3+ ions in alkali fluoroborate glasses. The dependence of the spectral characteristics of Dy3+ ions due to compositional changes has been examined and reported.