Rare earth (Dy3+-ion) induced near white light emission in sodium-zinc-borate glasses

In this report, we present a detailed investigation of the structural, spectroscopic and luminescence features of Dy3+ ion incorporated sodium-zinc-borate glasses with glass composition, 20Na2O – 10ZnO - (70-x) B2O3 – x (Dy2O3), where, x = 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mol % glasses prepared via traditional melt-quenching method. Various characterization techniques such as, DSC, UV–vis-NIR, Luminescence and time decay were used to thoroughly examine the prepared glasses. In order to evaluate the impact of Dy3+ incorporation, various physical parameters were estimated. The incorporation of Dy3+ into the host causes significant changes in various physical parameters, resulting in the creation of NBO's and the non-metallic nature of the glasses. Surprisingly, DSC profiles up to 1 mol% Dy3+ revealed two glass transition temperatures. Furthermore, optical absorption spectra disclose the presence of an intense peak that corresponds to a hyperfine transition, as well as other host-dependent transitions. To determine the radiative parameters and efficiency, Judd-Ofelt theoretical calculations were used. After performing a JO analysis, it was discovered that the JO parameters are in the following order; Ω2 > Ω4 > Ω6. The estimated JO parameters were compared to the JO parameters of Dy3+-ions doped with different hosts reported in the literature. Tauc's method was also used to determine the indirect energy band gap of the glasses. Excitation wavelengths ranging from 349 nm to 452 nm have been used in emission studies. When excited with a wavelength of 349 nm, the glass containing 0.5 mol percent Dy3+ showed intense emission, which corresponds to white light. Overall, Dy3+ incorporated sodium-zinc-borate glasses may be potential candidates for while light emission applications, according to the findings.