Photodarkening mechanisms of Pr 3+ singly doped and Pr 3+ /Ce 3+ co‐doped silicate glasses and fibers

Abstract In this work, we revealed the possible mechanisms of the photodarkening in Pr 3+ ions singly doped and Pr 3+ /Ce 3+ co‐doped silicate glasses and fibers induced by X‐ray and 488‐nm laser radiations and studied the role of Ce 3+ in increasing radiation resistance in Pr 3+ ‐doped silicate glasses and fibers. The absorption, emission, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), radiation induced attenuation spectra, and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of Pr 3+ singly doped and Pr 3+ /Ce 3+ co‐doped silicate glasses before and after X‐ray radiation were measured and analyzed. The fluorescence intensity and photoinduced attenuation of Pr 3+ singly doped and Pr 3+ /Ce 3+ co‐doped silicate fibers at visible wavelengths pumped by 488‐nm laser were measured and analyzed. The influence of Ce 3+ ions co‐doping on the spectroscopic properties of Pr 3+ ions as well as the radiation‐induced defects in silicate glasses was studied. Results demonstrate that both X‐ray and 488‐nm laser radiations will induce photodamage in Pr 3+ ions‐doped silicate glasses and fibers. Co‐doping Ce 3+ (by up to 1 mol%) is efficient to suppress the darkening induced by both X‐ray and 488‐nm laser radiations without influence on the luminescence behavior of Pr 3+ ions in silicate glasses and fibers. Our studies demonstrate the promising potential of Pr 3+ /Ce 3+ co‐doped silicate glasses for visible lasing applications.