Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy & Radiative Transfer 113 (2012) 1669–1675

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Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy &

Radiative Transfer
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jqsrt

Spectral investigations of Sm3 þ doped lead bismuth magnesium

borophosphate glasses
Y.N.Ch. Ravi Babu a, P. Sree Ram Naik a, K. Vijaya Kumar b, N. Rajesh Kumar c,
A. Suresh Kumar a,n
a
University Science Instrumentation Centre, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati 517502, India
b
Government Degree College for Women, Sri Kalahasthi 517502, India
c
Pavitra Degree College, Machilipatnam 521001, India

a r t i c l e i n f o abstract

Article history: The multicomponent lead bismuth magnesium borophosphate glass systems (LBMBPS)
Received 19 January 2012 doped with Samarium ions with the molar compositions of (50  x)PbO–xBi2O3–
Received in revised form 25MgHPO4–24B2O3–1Sm2O3 (where x ¼ 10, 20, 30, and 40) were fabricated using
30 March 2012
conventional melt quenching technique. The amorphous nature of these glass samples
Accepted 31 March 2012
Available online 10 April 2012
was confirmed with XRD studies. The spectral data from the optical absorption studies
were employed to compute various spectroscopic parameters such as Judd–Ofelt
Keywords: intensity parameters. The Judd–Ofelt parameterization employed reflects the covalency
Glasses and vibration frequencies of the ligands with Samarium ions. The radiative parameters
Melt-quenching technique
such as radiative transition probabilities (A), the total radiative transitional probabilities
Judd–Ofelt parameters
(AT), radiative life times (tR), branching ratios (b) and absorption cross sections (S) were
Lifetimes
Branching ratio computed for certain lasing levels. The glass systems thus developed indicate their
Absorption cross sections potential lasing candidature. The emission cross sections (sE) for the significant lasing
Emission cross sections transitions 4G5/2-6H5/2, 4G5/2-6H7/2, and 4G5/2-6H9/2 evaluated from the photolumi-
nescence spectra were reported. The radiative properties obtained in our investigations
suggest their lasing candidature.
& 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction network formation at higher concentrations of Bi2O3 [5].

Glasses prepared with heavy metal oxides become
important for optoelectronic applications [1–3]. The rela-
tively low phonon energy of these glasses increases the
quantum efficiency of luminescence in these matrices and
become efficient lasing candidates [4]. The high refractive
index of heavy metal oxide glasses has provided an added
advantage in higher stimulated emission cross-section,
which enhances the gain of the amplifier. The addition of
Bi2O3 in oxide glasses, modifies the network for lower
concentrations and then actively participates in the
n
Corresponding author. Tel.: þ91 877 9849825215.
E-mail address: sureshusic1@gmail.com (A. Suresh Kumar).
Since Bi2O3 is a conditional glass former, the stability
glass decreases with increase of Bi2O3 content [5]. Bi2O3
contributes significantly to the increase in optical non-
linearity in oxide glasses [6].
The large mass, low field strength and high polariz-
ability of lead in the glass hosts contribute much to the
lasing potencies of the glass systems [6]. Lead oxide has
the ability to form stable glasses over a wide range of
concentrations due to its dual role as a glass modifier and
as a glass former [7]. The combination of PbO and Bi2O3 in
the glass host improves chemical durability of the glass
[8]. There is more photon absorption in the glasses
containing Bi2O3 and PbO [9]. Molar volume decreases
with increase in mole fraction of PbO in PbO–B2O3 glass
system, whereas molar volume increases by replacing

0022-4073/$ - see front matter & 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jqsrt.2012.03.034
1670 Y.N.Ch. Ravi Babu et al. / Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy & Radiative Transfer 113 (2012) 1669–1675

PbO by Bi2O3 in Bi2O3–PbO–B2O3 glass system. Substitu- 2. Experimental

tion of lead by bismuth causes the expansion of glass
network [10].
The glass former B2O3 has boron ions in the triangu-
larly coordinated by oxygen and therefore the B2O3 units
are corner bonded in a random configuration [11]. The
phosphate might provide multiple sites for rare earth
dopants, allowing for relatively high concentrations.
Phosphate glasses exhibit good chemical durability, large
thermal expansion and low optical dispersion [12,13].
Among various glass matrices, phosphate glass possesses
a series of interesting properties such as low glass transi-
tion temperature (Tg), low melting temperature, high
thermal expansion coefficient and biocompatibility [14].
The dopant Sm3 þ (4f5) ion is one of the most interesting
RE ions to analyze the fluorescence properties as its
emitting 4G5/2 level exhibits relatively high quantum
efficiency. The glass containing Sm3 þ ions have the most
interesting qualities due to their potential applications for
high-density optical storage, under sea communication
and color displays [15].
The authors in the present work reported the lazing
properties of Sm3 þ ions in varied compositions of Bi2O3
and PbO with glass formers MgHPO4 and B2O3.
A → 10%Bi (LBMBPS1)
B → 20%Bi (LBMBPS2)
C → 30%Bi (LBMBPS3)
D D → 40%Bi (LBMBPS4)
Intensity (a.u)
Sm2O3 doped glass samples (LBMBPS) with the molar
composition of (50 x)PbO–xBi2O3–25MgHPO4–24B2O3–
1Sm2O3 (where x¼ 10, 20, 30 and 40 mol%) were prepared
by melt quenching technique [16]. These glasses are labeled
as LBMBPS1, LBMBPS2, LBMBPS3 and LBMBPS4 for x¼10, 20,
30 and 40 mol% respectively. Reagents of analytical grade
were used and Sm2O3 added to the host glass was 99.99%
pure. The chemicals of the required compositions of approxi-
mately 10 g were weighed in an electronic balance and
grounded in an agate mortar to get a fine powder. The
samples were transferred to an electric furnace at 400 1C
initially for half an hour. The samples were subjected to a
temperature of 1050 1C for an hour to yield good melting.
The melt was then quickly quenched at room temperature in
air by pouring it onto a preheated (300 1C) heavy brass plate.
These glass samples were annealed around 400 1C to remove
internal stress, which was verified by examining with a
polarizing microscope (Rudalph Instruments). Samples were
polished with fine powder of cerium oxide. These developed
glass systems were subjected to X-ray diffraction studies for
amorphous nature. The refractive index ’‘n’ of the samples
was determined using conventional methods [17]. Absorp-
tion spectra were recorded for all the samples by taking the
undoped glasses as references at room temperature on
JASCO UV–vis–NIR V-670 spectrometer. The Infrared absorp-
tion spectra of these samples were recorded using KBr pellet
method on JASCO FT/IR-5300 in the wavelength range 400–
4000 cm  1 at room temperature. The luminescence spectra

of the glass samples excited at a wavelength of 402 nm were

recorded using Perkin Elmer Luminescence Spectrophot-
C ometer model LS50B in the spectral range 400–750 nm.

3. Results and discussion

B
A The recorded XRD profile of Sm3þ doped lead bismuth
borophosphate (LBMBP) glass shown in Fig. 1 has confirmed
its amorphous nature by the absence of peaks in the spectra.

20 40 60 80
3.1. Physical properties
2θ (degrees)

Fig. 1. XRD profile of Sm3 þ ions in LBMBPS1 (A), LBMBPS2 (B), LBMBPS3 The physical and optical parameters such as refractive
(C), and LBMBPS4 (D) glasses. index (n), density (d), molar refractive index (Rm), molar

Table 1
Physical properties of Sm3 þ ions in LBMBPS1, LBMBPS2, LBMBPS3 and LBMBPS4 glasses.

Physical property LBMBPS1 LBMBPS2 LBMBPS3 LBMBPS4

Average molecular weight 197.7 222.0 246.3 270.6

Density (g/cm3) 4.354 4.565 4.715 4.806
Refractive index ‘n’ 1.973 1.979 1.982 1.993
Concentration N (1022 ions/cm3) 1.33 1.24 1.15 1.07
Polaron radius (rp) (Å) 3.65 3.73 3.82 3.92
Inter ionic distance(ri) (Å) 4.22 4.32 4.43 4.54
Field strength F (1016 cm  2) 0.225 0.215 0.205 0.195
Molar refractivity RM (cm  3) 22.29 23.98 25.8 28.02
Electronic polarizability a (10  24 cm  3) 8.83 9.5 10.2 11.1
Molar volume Vm 45.4 48.6 52.2 56.3
Optical dielectric constant () 2.89 2.92 2.93 2.97
Bonding parameter d  0.011  0.012  0.011  0.010
 Y.N.Ch. Ravi Babu et al. / Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy & Radiative Transfer 113 (2012) 1669–1675 1671

volume (Vm), Sm3 þ doped LBMBP glasses (for various where e is the molar extinction coefficient at energy u cm  1.
R
compositional changes of PbO and Bi2O3) are determined eðuÞ du was evaluated by measuring the area under the
[18] from various experiments and are reported in curve shown in Fig. 2. Theoretically the intensities of
Table 1. These glasses, in general, are moisture insensitive spectral lines were evaluated using the procedures outlined
and capable of accepting large concentration of RE ions in the literature [22]:
without losing transparency. It is interesting to note that X
6
the increase in the Bi2O3 content in the glass systems f cal ¼ T l uðcJ :U l :cJ Þ2 ð2Þ
enhances various optical parameters such as refractive l¼2
index, polaron radius, inter ionic distance, molar refrac-
The experimental and calculated oscillator strengths
tivity, electronic polarizability, optical dielectric constant
‘fexp’ and ‘fcal’ are shown in Table 2.
and density. Concentration and field strength values show
The three intensity parameters T2, T4, and T6 are
decreasing trend with the increase of bismuth content.
evaluated by the least square fit method. The computed
Judd–Ofelt (J–O) intensity parameters O2, O4 and O6
[13,24], obtained are reported in Table 3.
3.2. Absorption spectra
The rms deviation [13] between observed and calcu-
lated spectral intensities is small which indicates the
The absorption spectra of Sm3 þ : lead bismuth boro-
validity of Judd–Ofelt theories. The summary of the
phosphate glasses are presented in Fig. 2 with seven
Judd–Ofelt intensity parameters for the four glasses
distinctive and sharp absorption bands at 941 nm,
doped with Sm2O3 is shown in Table 3. The values of
1075 nm, 1226 nm, 1372 nm, 1404 nm, 1476 nm and
J–O parameters are found to be in the order of
1534 nm, and these bands are appropriately assigned to
O2 o O4 o O6 for all the four glasses. The lower value of
the electronic transitions 6H5/2-6F11/2, 6F9/2, 6F7/2, 6F5/2,
6
O2 indicates that the symmetry of the ligand field at rare
F3/2, 6H15/2 and 6F1/2 respectively [18–21]. In order to
earth site is higher [27]. The larger size of the modifier ion
apply the Judd–Ofelt theory to these absorption spectra,
causes the average Sm–O distance to increase. Such an
well-defined absorption bands such as 6H5/2-6F11/2, 6F9/2,
6 increase in the bond lengths produces a weaker field
F7/2, 6F5/2, 6F3/2, 6H15/2 and 6F1/2 have been considered.
around Sm3 þ ions leading to a lower value of O2 for the
It is interesting to report that the masking of many
glass. Covalency between the Sm3 þ ion and the ligand
characteristic absorption bands of Sm3 þ ions in UV–visible
oxygen ion also contributes to O2 [28]. The comparative
region is with the gradual increase of Bismuth content in the
glass series [5]. Conventional Judd–Ofelt theory [22,23] has Table 2
been applied for computation of the absorption spectra. The Experimental and calculated spectral intensities (f  10  6) of observed
squared reduced matrix elements :Ul:2 of the unit tensor absorption bands of Sm3 þ ions in LBMBPS1, LBMBPS2, LBMBPS3 and
LBMBPS4 glasses.
operators available in the literature [24] is employed for the
evaluation of certain spectroscopic parameters. The oscilla- Transition LBMBPS1 LBMBPS2 LBMBPS3 LBMBPS4
tor strengths ‘fexp’ are evaluated from the following expres-
sion (1). Experimentally the intensities of spectral lines fexp fcal fexp fcal fexp fcal fexp fcal
which were determined in terms of oscillator strengths 6
F11/2 0.42 0.93 0.31 0.95 0.35 0.01 0.38 0.87
are obtained using Beer–Lambert’s law: 6
F9/2 4.66 2.25 4.36 2.31 4.59 2.41 3.87 2.11
Z 6
F7/2 6.84 7.49 7.26 7.78 7.42 7.99 6.49 6.95
f exp ¼ 4:32  109 eðuÞ du ð1Þ 6
F5/2 3.17 2.89 3.4 3.16 3.30 3.04 2.80 2.60
6
F3/2 0.90 1.40 1.06 1.50 0.90 1.47 0.89 1.22
6
H15/2 0.35 0.05 0.34 0.05 0.31 0.05 0.28 0.04
6
F1/2 0.12 0.15 0.09 0.12 0.116 0.15 0.062 0.09

rms Dev. 7 0.29 7 0.25 70.25 70.24

6
F7/2
6
F5/2 6
6
F9/2 F3/2
Table 3
6 Comparison of Judd–Ofelt intensity parameters (Ol  10  20) (l ¼2, 4, 6)
H1/2
(cm2) of Sm3 þ ions in various glass environments.
Absorbance (a.u)

6
F11/2 6
F1/2
Glass X2 X4 X6 X4/X6 References
A
LBMBPS1 0.354 3.91 4.74 0.82 Present work
LBMBPS2 0.281 4.28 4.83 0.88 Present work
B
LBMBPS3 0.336 4.1 5.04 0.81 Present work
LBMBPS4 0.2 3.47 4.37 0.79 Present work
C LBTAF 0.27 2.52 2.47 1.020 [25]
LCN Borate 0.84 4.00 5.02 0.80 [26]
D
Calibo 0.97 5.04 4.73 1.065 [27]
ZnBS 0.29 3.82 3.65 1.074 [29]
1000 1200 1400 1600 LiTFP 0.04 3.49 2.37 1.47 [30]
Wavelength (nm) NaTFP 0.08 3.27 2.47 1.323 [30]
KTFP 0.15 2.44 1.76 1.386 [30]
Fig. 2. NIR absorption spectra of Sm3 þ ions in LBMBPS1 (A), LBMBPS2 NSBaP 0.327 8.605 4.35 1.310 [31]
(B), LBMBPS3 (C) and LBMBPS4 (D) glasses.
1672 Y.N.Ch. Ravi Babu et al. / Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy & Radiative Transfer 113 (2012) 1669–1675

report of J–O parameters with lower values of O2 is shown
in Table 3. It appears that Sm3 þ ion in all the above glass
matrices are subjected to similar environments.
3.3. Luminescence spectra and radiative properties
The emission spectra of the present glasses from 400
to 750 nm region with an excitation wavelength of 402 nm
are presented in Fig. 3. The fluorescence spectra exhibit
three emission bands at 565, 602 and 648 nm which are
corresponding to 4G5/2-6H5/2, 6H7/2 and 6H9/2 transitions,
4 6
G5/2→ H7/2
Relative Intensity (a.u)
respectively shown in Fig. 3. Among these three transitions
4
G5/2-6H7/2 (602 nm) exhibits intense orange lumines-
cence. The other two transitions, 4G5/2-6H5/2 (565 nm)
and 6H9/2 (648 nm) show moderate luminescence in the
visible region. Therefore it appears that 4G5/2-6H7/2 transi-
tion is significant for laser emission. The transition 4G5/2-
6
H7/2 with DJ¼ 71 is a magnetic dipole (MD) allowed but it
is the electric dipole (ED) that dominated, the other transi-
tion 4G5/2-6H9/2 is purely an ED one [29]. Generally, the
intensity ratio of ED to MD transitions has been used to
measure the symmetry of the local environment of the
trivalent 4f ions. The greater the intensity of the ED
transition, the more would be the asymmetry in nature
[30]. In the present work, 4G5/2-6H9/2 (ED) transition of
A Sm3 þ ions is more intense than 4G5/2-6H5/2 (MD) specify-
ing the asymmetric nature of the glass host. The effective
band widths and stimulated emission cross-sections are

evaluated [31] for these transitions using the following

expressions and are presented in Table 6. The comparative
B
studies of effective band widths and stimulated emission
4 6 cross-sections for various Sm3 þ doped glass systems were
G5/2→ H5/2
furnished in Table 6.
4 6
G5/2→ H9/2 R
IðlÞdl
C Dl ¼ ð3Þ
Imax

where I(l) is the emission intensity at the wavelength peak.

D
l4P
Stimulated emission cross-section se ¼ Aðaj : bj0 Þ ð4Þ
550 600 650 700 8pcn2 DlP
Wave length (nm)
The predicted branching ratios are found to be high for
Fig. 3. Emission spectra of Sm3 þ ions in LBMBPS1 (A), LBMBPS2 (B), those transitions having maximum ‘A’ values. The levels
LBMBPS3 (C), and LBMBPS4 (D) glasses excited at 402 nm. having the relatively large values of A, bR and energy gap

Table 4
Estimated values of spontaneous emission probabilities (A) (s  1), radiative rate (AT) (s  1), electric dipole line strengths (Sed/e2  1022) and radiative
lifetimes (tR) of emission transitions of Sm3 þ ions in LBMBPS1, LBMBPS2, LBMBPS3 and LBMBPS4 glasses.

Transition LBMBPS1 LBMBPS2 LBMBPS3 LBMBPS4

SLJ S’L’J’ Sed A Sed A Sed A Sed A

4 6
G5/2 F9/2 0.23 1.54 0.227 1.541 0.237 1.61 0.189 1.31
6
F7/2 0.634 6.19 0.689 6.733 0.666 6.49 0.565 5.51
6
F5/2 0.767 9.61 0.773 9.681 0.783 9.81 0.611 7.65
6
F3/2 0.035 0.51 0.028 0.403 0.034 0.483 0.02 0.29
6
H9/2 3.623 135.9 3.795 142.1 3.782 141.7 3.141 117.7
6
H7/2 6.61 309.2 6.96 325.4 6.977 326.4 5.985 279.9
6
H5/2 0.281 15.7 0.305 17.05 0.294 16.43 0.247 13.8
AT 478.6 AT 502.9 AT 502.9 AT 426.3
tR (ms) 2.089 tR (ms) 1.988 tR (ms) 1.988 tR (ms) 2.35
4 6
G7/2 F9/2 0.299 2.87 0.301 2.89 0.316 3.033 0.27 2.59
6
F7/2 34.6 451.7 36.8 480.3 36.43 475.5 31.1 405.5
6
F5/2 1.228 19.72 1.27 20.4 1.298 20.85 1.12 17.9
6
F3/2 0.434 7.8 0.449 8.09 0.446 8.034 0.359 6.45
6
H11/2 0.898 29.32 0.877 28.62 0.907 29.61 0.68 22.3
6
H9/2 5.323 219.1 5.68 233.9 5.61 230.8 4.79 197
6
H7/2 3.216 161.1 3.34 167.5 3.4 170.5 2.93 146.8
6
H5/2 1.767 103.7 1.85 108.4 1.87 109.6 1.6 94
AT 995.3 AT 1050 AT 1047 AT 892.6
tR (ms) 1.005 tR (ms) 0.952 tR (ms) 0.954 tR (ms) 1.12
4 6
F3/2 F3/2 0.039 1.07 0.031 0.846 0.037 1.013 0.022 0.603
6
H7/2 54.5 4511 57.04 4717 56.34 4660 45.66 3776
6
H5/2 58.5 5729 62.42 6112 60.85 5958 50.32 4927
AT 10242 AT 10830 AT 10619 AT 8704
tR (ms) 0.098 tR (ms) 0.092 tR (ms) 0.094 tR (ms) 0.115
 Y.N.Ch. Ravi Babu et al. / Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy & Radiative Transfer 113 (2012) 1669–1675 1673

to the next lower level may exhibit laser action. The relations [34]:
branching ratios of the emission transition 4G5/2-6H7/2
X
6
exhibit 65% indicating its lasing potentiality. From the Sed ¼ e2 Ol ðcJ :U l :c0J0 Þ2 ð5Þ
fluorescence spectra, it is observed that the intensities l¼2
of the fluorescent levels 4G5/2-6H5/2, 6H7/2 and 6H9/2
where Sed is the electric dipole line strength.
decrease from LBMBPS1 to LBMBPS4. It is also found that !
 
the emission peak positions do not vary much with host 64p4 u3 nðn2 þ2Þ2
A¼ Sed ð6Þ
to host (Fig. 3). It is interesting to note that the following 3hð2J þ1Þ 9
lasing transitions show incremental tendency for the
values of stimulated emission cross-section from host to cJ 0
X
host as detailed below: AT ðcJ Þ ¼ AðcJ , cJ0 Þ ð7Þ
cJ
4
Transition G5/2-6H5/2: LBMBPS14LBMBPS24
LBMBPS34LBMBPS4 1
Transitions 4G5/2-6H7/2 and 6H9/2: LBMBPS14 tR ¼ ð8Þ
AT ðcJ Þ
LBMBPS24LBMBPS34LBMBPS4
AðcJ , cJ0 Þ
br ðcJ , cJ0 Þ ¼ ð9Þ
AT ðcJ Þ
The large stimulated emission cross-sections are the
attractive features for low-threshold, high gain laser X A
applications, which are utilized to obtain CW laser action ¼ ð10Þ
8pcn2 u2
[32]. It is interesting to indicate that these transitions in
our present work are similar to the values reported in These values are presented in Tables 4–5.
literature [33]. Electric dipole line strength (Sed), branch-
ing ratios (b), integrated absorption cross sections (S) and
radiative life times (tR) for the exited states of Sm3 þ ion
have been calculated and presented in tables. The radia-
tive transition probabilities (Arad) and total emission
% Transmittance (a.u)

probability (AT) can be evaluated from the following

A
Table 5
Branching ratios (b) and integrated cross sections (S  10  18) (cm  1) B
of Sm3 þ ions in LBMBPS1, LBMBPS2, LBMBPS3 and LBMBPS4 glasses.
C
SLJ S’L’J’ LBMBPS1 LBMBPS2 LBMBPS3 LBMBPS4
D
b S b S b S b S

4 6
G5/2 H9/2 0.28 0.188 0.28 0.197 0.28 0.196 0.27 0.163
6
H7/2 0.65 0.369 0.65 0.388 0.65 0.39 0.66 0.334 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500
4
G7/2 6
F7/2 0.45 1.044 0.46 1.109 0.45 1.097 0.45 0.936
Wavenumber (cm-1)
6
H9/2 0.22 0.235 0.22 0.251 0.22 0.248 0.22 0.211
Fig. 4. IR spectra of LBMBPS1 (A), LBMBPS2 (B), LBMBPS3 (C), and
4
F3/2 6
H7/2 0.44 4.827 0.43 5.048 0.44 4.987 0.43 4.041 LBMBPS4 (D) glasses at room temperature. (Bands are at 564 cm  1,
6
H5/2 0.56 5.479 0.56 5.845 0.56 5.697 0.56 4.711 717 cm  1, 1033 cm  1, 1384 cm  1, 1637 cm  1, 2234 cm  1, 2917 cm  1,
and 3422 cm  1.)

Table 6
Certain radiative and fluorescence properties stimulated emission cross-sections sE (10  22 cm2), effective band width Dl (nm), peak wavelength lp (nm),
predicted branching ratios b and spontaneous emission probabilities A of Sm3 þ ions doped in various glass environments.

4
Glass Reference G5/2-6H5/2 G5/2-6H7/2
4
G5/2-6H9/2
4

kp A Dkp rE b kp A Dkp rE b kp A Dkp rE b

LBMBPS1 Present work 565.5 15.7 11.7 0.399 0.03 601 309.2 15.42 5.78 0.65 647.5 135.9 18 2.49 0.28
LBMBPS2 Present work 565.5 17.05 12.2 0.395 0.03 601.5 325.4 14.89 6.51 0.65 648 142.1 18 2.59 0.28
LBMBPS3 Present work 566 16.43 12.8 0.349 0.03 602 326.4 14.3 7.08 0.65 648 141.7 16.5 3.10 0.28
LBMBPS4 Present work 566 13.8 11.7 0.346 0.03 602.5 279.9 13.0 7.29 0.66 648.5 117.7 10.1 6.81 0.27
CaSm [33] 566 13.59 16 0.89 0.066 601 191.7 28 5.00 0.51 644 108.6 26 3.84 0.27
PbSm [33] 564 13.36 14 1.01 0.06 599 206.8 26 5.73 0.51 643 120.2 23 4.78 0.28
ZnSm [33] 562 12.64 13 1.11 0.05 596 222.2 24 7.12 0.50 642 140.1 21 6.33 0.30
NCS:Sm3c [35] – – – – – 602 74.97 15 3.07 0.36 656 89.26 15 5.15 0.43
ZFBP:Sm3 þ [36] 557.5 14 – – – 597.5 57.35 12.5 3.448 0.36 645.5 71.02 14.5 5.01 0.45
30 mol% PbO [27] – – – – – 612.5 115.3 11.5 6.92 0.52 659.8 59.78 15.4 3.47 0.27
1674 Y.N.Ch. Ravi Babu et al. / Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy & Radiative Transfer 113 (2012) 1669–1675

Table 7
FT-IR absorption spectral features and their assignments for LBMBPS1, BMBPS2, LBMBPS3 and LBMBPS4 glasses.

Wave number (cm  1) FT-IR spectral assignment

564 [BiO3] stretching [37]

717 Combined vibrations of BO4 and PbO4 [38]
1033 Vibrations of boron atoms attached to NBO’s in the form of BO4 vibrations [39,40],
Pb–O vibrations from Pb–O–Bi units [39]
1384 Vibrations of bridging oxygen atoms between BO3 and BO4 groups [38]
1637 OH bending mode of vibration [41]
2234 O–H bond stretching vibrations [38]
2917 Hydrogen bonding [37]
3422 Stretching of OH group [37]

3.4. FT-IR spectra
Fig. 4 shows the infrared absorption spectra of Sm3 þ :
lead bismuth borophosphate glasses with opposite varia-
tion of lead (decrement) and bismuth oxides (increment)
in the range from 500 nm to 3500 nm. The positions of the
absorption bands of these glasses are listed in Table 7
with the specification of their attributed vibration modes.
4. Conclusions
The glasses of present study are fabricated using
conventional melt quenching technique. The bonding
parameter obtained in all the glass systems is of ionic in
nature. Very low rms deviation values obtained for the
experimental and calculated oscillator strengths reflect
the goodness of fitting procedure and the validity of the
Judd–Ofelt theory. It is also worth to note that the
magnitude of the spectroscopic quality factor is less than
unity in all the glass matrices. The emission cross sections
obtained for the lasing transitions of 4G5/2-6H7/2 and
4
G5/2-6H9/2 of LBMBPS4 glass are comparable with that
reported in literature which indicates its potentiality for
lasing devices.
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