Heavy metal oxide glass-ceramics containing luminescent gallium-garnets single crystals for photonic applications

Glass-ceramics containing rare earth gallium garnets were obtained using glass compositions as reactional medium. This work reports on the synthesis, and structural, morphological, and optical characterizations of Er3+ and Tm3+-doped Yb3Ga5O12 crystals prepared from controlled cooling of heavy metal oxide glass melts. Micrometric cubic crystals were obtained by controlling the cooling of a rare earth-supersaturated glassy composition melted at high temperature. Crystals with sizes ranging between 5 and 150 mu m were formed into the glass matrix. A gallium garnet phase corresponding to space group Ia-3d was identified by X-ray diffraction and confirmed by Rietveld simulations. The morphology of crystals was studied by optical and scanning electron microscopies, while chemical elements were mapped by electron dispersive X-Ray spectroscopy. The glass phase was studied by XRD, thermal analysis and Raman spectroscopy. The optical properties of both glass and glass-ceramic materials were evaluated by UV-Vis and luminescence spectroscopies. Micro-luminescence measurements confirmed that rare earths were incorporated into the crystalline phase. Intense upconversion emissions of Er3+ (550 and 660 nm) and Tm3+ (800 nm) were observed when the glass-ceramics were pumped at 980 nm. These new glass-ceramics are excellent candidates for the development of photonic devices. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

Glass-ceramics containing rare earth gallium garnets were successfully synthesized in this study, with excellent optical properties suitable for the development of photonic devices. The materials exhibited intense upconversion emissions upon pumping at 980 nm, making them promising candidates for various applications in photonics.