Electrical and optical properties of glasses and glass-ceramics

In this work, the electrical and optical properties of glasses and glass-ceramics are presented and discussed in details. Several electrical and optical parameters for glasses and glass-ceramics were determined. The conduction activation energy and DC conductivity depend on temperature, glass composition and concentration of glass modifiers. The optical properties of glasses and glass-ceramics containing Er3+ (or Er3+/Yb3+) ions have been analyzed for near-infrared luminescence centered at about 1.5 mu m and up-conversion applications. In particular, luminescence bandwidths and lifetimes for the I-4(13/2) -> I-4(15/2) transition of Er3+ were determined as a function of host-matrices and then examined for near-infrared solid-state lasers and broadband optical amplifiers. The green up-conversion luminescence spectra for Er3+ and Er3+/Yb3+ doped systems are temperature-dependent and can be used to optical sensors.