Spectroscopic studies of transition metal ion-doped borate glasses for optical applications

Abstract In this work, we report the synthesis and spectroscopic properties of Sodium-Zinc-Borate glasses activated with Cu+. The prepared glasses were extensively studied through XRD, UV–Vis-NIR, and Photoluminescence. It is observed that the prepared glasses are amorphous in nature. The excitation spectra for the entire glasses exhibit a strong and broad excitation band in the region of 230–340 nm with a maximum intensity around 260 nm. A single broad band in the range of 320–650 nm with apeak intensity around 460 nm also exists in the emission spectra. There will be some difficulty in assigning the peaks because copper has several valence states such as Cu, Cu+, and Cu2+.Spectroscopic techniques such as absorption, Tauc's plots, and photoluminescence spectroscopy were used to study the glasses. With Cu inclusion, a red shift in the indirect band gap energy was found, while a blue shift in the Urbach energy was seen. Overall, the prepared glasses appear to be suitable for luminescence applications.