Efficient and broadband near-infrared emission of Cr3+-doped glass-ceramics for near-infrared light sources applications

The high-efficiency and broadband near-infrared (NIR)-emitting materials play a vital role in NIR spectroscopy techniques. Herein, a series of Cr3+-doped magnesium aluminosilicate glasses were successfully prepared, and the Mg2Al4Si5O18 and MgAl2O4 nanocrystals were mainly precipitated in glass-ceramics after heat treatment. In addition, the results indicated that Cr3+ ions were in octahedral sites in the dual-phase glass-ceramics. Under the excitation of 400 nm and 465 nm xenon lamp, a broadband emission peak located at ∼985 nm was reported, which was caused by the overlap of the peaks centered at ∼965 nm and ∼1010 nm, and the controllable emission was achieved by selective enrichment of Cr3+ ions into Mg2Al4Si5O18 and MgAl2O4 nanocrystals in dual-phase glass-ceramics. This study demonstrates that dual-phase glass-ceramics have a potential application in NIR spectroscopy techniques, and more importantly, provides a key strategy for preparing high-efficiency and broadband NIR-emitting materials.