FABRICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF Sm3+-DOPED ZINC BARIUM BORATE GLASSES

Zinc-barium-borate glasses with the composition (60 - x) B2O3-10ZnO-30BaO-xSm(2)O(3) (where x = 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 mol %) doped with Sm3+ ions have been prepared, and their physical and optical properties are investigated. The photoluminescence spectra recorded under the 403-nm excitation exhibited the emission bands at 564, 600, 647, and 710 nm corresponding to the transition (4)G(5/2) -> H-6(J) (J = 5/2, 7/2, 9/2, 11/2), respectively. The Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters (Omega(lambda), lambda = 2, 4, and 6) have been evaluated, and the radiative transition probabilities, emission cross-section, and branching ratios for the excited levels of Sm3+ ions are predicted. The lifetime of the (4)G(5/2) level is found to decrease with an increase in the Sm3+ ion concentration.