The mutual influence between rare earth element doping and femtosecond laser-induced effects in Ga-As-Sb-S chalcogenide glass

Femtosecond laser-induced damage thresholds (LIDTs) of Ga0.8As29.2Sb10S60 glasses doped with gradient Tm3+ concentrations and the effects of laser-induced damage on the glass' luminescence properties were studied in this work. Tm3+ doping in the glass considerably decreased the LIDT, from 3394.8 to 1881.8 mJ/cm(2), when the Tm3+ concentration increased from 0 to 5000 ppmw. This was related to the absorption of Tm3+ around the femtosecond laser's wavelength and microstructural changes caused by the Tm3+ doping. On the other hand, the femtosecond laser changed the glass matrix's elemental distribution and microstructure. Although the laser damaged the glass, the luminescence properties were barely affected. Based on the changes, femtosecond laser damage mechanism of chalcogenide glass doped with rare earth element was firstly proposed.

Automated summary

The study found that Tm3+ doping significantly decreased the femtosecond laser-induced damage threshold of chalcogenide glass, while the femtosecond laser also altered the glass's microstructure and elemental distribution. Despite the damage caused by the laser, the luminescence properties of the glass were hardly affected.