Spectroscopic and optical investigations on Er3+/Yb3+co-doped bismuth–boroleadlithium glasses for solid state laser applications

Abstract Erbium–Ytterbium ions co-doped Bismuth boroleadlithium glasses have been found to be a viable option for a variety of photonics applications. In the present article, a small content of erbium oxide (0.5) and ytterbium (0, 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 mol%) assorted with bismuth boroleadlithium glasses were produced using the traditional melt-quenching method. The detailed structural and optical properties of glasses were analyzed through various characterization techniques viz., XRD, FESEM, DTA, FT-IR, Optical absorbance (OA) and Photoluminescence (PL). The results of XRD and SEM confirmed the non-crystalline nature of the glasses and the local structural changes were perceived by FTIR and DTA analysis. From OA data the calculated J-O intensity parameters (Ωλ where λ = 2, 4 and 6) of the present glasses followed the trend Ω2>Ω6>Ω4, it shows that the Yb–O bond has a higher degree of covalency. Moreover, the values (Ω4/Ω6