Compositional dependence of Stark splitting and spectroscopic properties in Yb3+-doped lead silicate glasses

Abstract In this work, we explore the effect of ionic field strength of modifiers (Li+, Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+ and Ba2+) on room-temperature Stark splitting and spectroscopic properties of Yb3+ ions in lead silicate glasses. Our measurements show that the ‘crystal-field’ parameter and asymmetry degree of Yb3+ ion ligands are increased as a function of modifier field strength due to the corresponding higher electronegativity and bonding energy. Higher field strengths produce greater absorption σa and emission σe cross-sections, effective emission linewidth Δλeff and spontaneous emission probability Arad of Yb3+ ions. We report a 57% enhancement on σa, σe and Δλeff by doubling the field strength of the modifier cations, implying Yb3+ ion doped lead silicate glass with high field strength modifiers (Li+, Mg2+ and Ca2+) may be a promising candidate for efficient laser emission operation.