Spectroscopic and optical properties of Nd3+ doped fluorine containing alkali and alkaline earth zinc-aluminophosphate optical glasses

Nd3+ doped fluorine containing zinc-aluminophosphate glasses have been prepared with alkali and alkaline earth content to understand the effect of network modifiers on radiative process. The physical and optical properties of these glasses have been evaluated. The Judd-Ofelt model for the intensity analysis of induced electric dipole transitions has been applied to the measured oscillator strengths of the absorption bands to determine the three phenomenological intensity parameters Omega(2), Omega(4) and Omega(6) for each glass. Using these parameters, transition probability (A), total transition probability (A(T)), branching ratios (beta(R)) radiative life times (tau(R)) and integrated cross-section (sigma(a)) for the stimulated emission have been theoretically calculated for certain excited Nd3+ fluorescent levels. From the obtained results the conclusion is made about the possibility of using these glasses as laser material. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.