Physical, Optical and Luminescence Properties of Pr³⁺ Doped in Lanthanum Borate Glasses

Abstract

The lanthanum borate glasses doped with Pr³⁺ were prepared by the melt-quenching technique for study in physical and luminescence properties. The glass composition in this study is 27.5La₂O₃-(72.5-x)B₂O₃-xPr₂O₃, where x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 mol%. The results showed that the doping of Pr₂O₃ with more concentration increased glass density and molar volume. Absorbed photons with 444 nm can excite the glass samples to release the strongest emission at 485 nm wavelength. The suitable concentration for adding Pr³⁺ into La₂O₃-B₂O₃-Pr₂O₃ glass, which can perform the strongest light emission, was 0.5 mol% of Pr₂O₃. The Judd–Ofelt (JO) Ω_λ (λ = 2, 4, and 6) parameters were calculated to explore the nature of environment surrounding Pr³⁺ ions. The CIE chromaticity (x, y) coordinate was calculated from the emission spectra indicating its location in the yellowish and orange region. This research leads to availability for use of glass as a light source in the yellow-orange-emitting device.

Keywords:

• Borate glasses
• luminescence
• praseodymium

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) and Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI) for supporting this research. J. Kaewkhao would like to thanks Research Grants for Talented Mid-Career Researcher Project under National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) for funding this work (Project Number N41A640097)).