Influence of silver nanoparticles in the luminescence efficiency of Pr3+-doped tellurite glasses

We studied the influence of silver nanoparticles (NPs) in the luminescence properties of TeO2–PbO–GeO2 glass doped with trivalent praseodymium (Pr3+) ions. The experiments were performed with samples containing different concentrations of NPs controlled by heat treatment of the glass. The enhancement of the Stokes luminescence with the increase of the NPs concentration was observed for samples excited at 454nm. The influence of the NPs on the frequency upconversion (anti-Stokes) emissions of Pr3+ under excitation at 520nm was also investigated. In this case, enhancement of the emissions around 460 and 486nm was observed and the excitation pathway is also discussed.