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

• Autor(a) principal: Souza, A. E. [UNESP]
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Outros Autores: Antonio, S. G. [UNESP], Ribeiro, S. J.L. [UNESP], Franco, D. F. [UNESP], Galeani, G., Cardinal, T., Dussauze, M., Nalin, M. [UNESP]
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UNESP
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jallcom.2021.158804
• Texto Completo: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2021.158804; http://hdl.handle.net/11449/205799
• topic: Gallium garnet; Glass matrix composites; Glass-ceramics; Luminescence; Rare earths

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 µm 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.