Judd–Ofelt analysis of Spectroscopic properties of Nd+3:SiO2 Prepared via Sol-Gel

Abstract

Doped and undoped nano particular silicate dioxide was prepared via sol–gel method under varying conditions. The optical properties of prepared samples were investigated by a variety of techniques, including X-ray diffraction, UV- Visible spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy. The peak of the fluorescence spectrum was recorded at the wavelength around to 1048nm, which it is close to known fluorescence peaks of Nd:YAG crystal in NIR region. A Judd-Ofelt analysis is performed to calculate the spectroscopic properties of Nd3+ions embedded in SiO2 and compare it with spectroscopic properties of Nd:YAG crystal.The conclusions behind this study show that the doped silicate samples have a high peak emission cross-section σp , which gives an acceptable indication in the direction of using Sol-Gel technique to prepare Nd:SiO2 as a solid state laser active medium.