A novel Nd3+-doped MgO-Al2O3-SiO2-based transparent glass-ceramics: Toward excellent fluorescence properties

Generally, glass-ceramics have superior properties compared to their parent glasses. Here, we prepared a novel Nd3+-doped MgO-Al2O3-SiO2-based transparent glass-ceramics with excellent fluorescence properties. The effects of Nd2O3 content on the structure and properties of glass-ceramics were studied, aiming to provide a key guidance for preparing this transparent glass-ceramics. The results revealed that the glass stability increased originally and then decreased with increasing Nd2O3 content, so did the variation of wavenumbers in infrared spectra. And these glass-ceramics are mainly composed of cordierite with residual glassy phase. The three phenomenological intensity parameters ((2,4,6)) and radiative properties were estimated by Judd-Ofelt theory, and the values of (2) first decreased and then increased with increasing Nd2O3 content. Three main emission peaks ascribed to the transitions from F-4(3/2) to I-4(9/2), I-4(11/2), I-4(13/2) at 898, 1057, 1330 nm were observed, respectively. The branching ratios for (F3/2I11/2)-F-4-I-4 transition increased as the Nd2O3 content raised, and the fluorescence lifetimes of the F-4(3/2) level were found to increase first and then decrease with Nd2O3 content (from 181 to 726s). The excellent fluorescence properties indicate that this novel glass-ceramics can be used as a potential solid-state optical functional material for 1.06m laser emission.