Judd‐Ofelt Parameters, Hypersensitivity, and Emission Characteristics of Ln3+ (Nd3+, Ho3+, and Er3+) Ions Doped in PbO‐PbF2 Glasses

The Judd–Ofelt parameters, Ω 2 and ΣΩ λ (λ= 2, 4, 6), for Nd 3+ , Ho 3+ , and Er 3+ doped in the oxyfluoride glass 30PbO70PbF 2 lie intermediate between fluoride glasses and oxide glasses such as borate and phosphate glasses, providing evidence for the sensitivity of these parameters to the bonding environment. The variation of Ω 2 unlike Ω 4 and Ω 6 for the lanthanide series is qualitatively different for glass matrices compared to crystalline matrices. Plots of oscillator strengths of hypersensitive transitions for these ions against ΣΩ λ (λ= 2, 4, 6) are found useful in discerning the degree of hypersensitivity of these transitions due to change in the host matrix. The 5 F 2 3 K 8 5 G 6 ← 5 I 8 transition of Ho 3+ is found to be the most hypersensitive. The radiative parameters for the oxyfluoride glasses are close to fluoride glasses and the branching ratio of the important lasing transition, viz., 4 F 3/2 → 4 I 11/2 , of Nd 3+ is higher for the present case compared to fluoride glass. The results suggest that the oxyfluoride glasses may be used as hosts in the place of fluoride glasses wherever suitable as they are more stable and easy to prepare and have similar radiative properties.