Modified structure and spectroscopic characteristics of Sm3+/Dy3+ co-activated barium-sulfur-telluro-borate glass host: role of plasmonic gold nanoparticles inclusion

Abstract

This paper reports the pure gold nanoparticles’ (AuNPs) localized surface plasmon field mediated structural and spectroscopic modification of the Sm3+/Dy3+ co-activated barium-sulfur-telluro-borate glasses. These glass samples were synthesized via melt-quenching technique and characterized to determine the role of pure gold nanopowder embedment at different contents on their structures and optical traits. The TEM image analysis showed that the non-spherical shaped AuNPs with an average diameter of 29 nm were successfully embedded into the host glass matrix. The symmetry of the Sm3+/Dy3+ environment was increased with the increase of AuNPs contents, indicating a decreasing trend of the bonding parameter values from −0.08 to −1.25, Judd-Ofelt intensity parameter (Ω2) from 4.39×10-20 to 1.15×10-20 cm2 and crystal field strength from 9.28 to 5.99. Furthermore, the trend of the evaluated radiative parameters revealed their sensitivity to the alterations in the glass structure. The AuNPs localized surface plasmon field stimulation significantly affected the structural and spectroscopic qualities of the glasses, leading to a shift in the chromaticity co-ordinates from the white to yellowish-orange zone in the CIE 1931 color space. Overall, the proposed glass system was established to be a potential yellowish-orange light-emitting laser host matrix.