Er-doped lead borate glasses and transparent glass ceramics for near-infrared luminescence and up-conversion applications.

Lead borate based glasses have been analyzed using Raman and infrared spectroscopy. The formation of different borate groups and the direction of BO3 <--> BO4 conversion strongly depends on the PbO- and/or PbF2-to-B2O3 ratio in chemical composition. PbF2-PbO-B2O3 based glasses containing Er3+ ions have been studied after annealing. The orthorhombic PbF2 crystallites are formed during thermal treatment, which was evidenced by X-ray diffraction analysis. Near-infrared luminescence at 1530 nm and green up-conversion at 545 nm have been registered for samples before and after annealing. The luminescence bands correspond to 4I13/2-4I15/2 and 4S3/2-4I15/2 transitions of Er3+ ions, respectively. In comparison to the precursor glasses, the luminescence intensities are higher in the studied transparent oxyfluoride glass ceramics. Simultaneously, the half-width of the luminescence lines slightly decreases. It can be the evidence that a small amount of the Er3+ ions is incorporated into the orthorhombic PbF2 phase.