Classical and combinatorial Judd–Ofelt analysis of spectroscopic properties in Er-doped materials: TeO2–ZnO–BaO:Er(3+) glasses

Abstract

A systematic study of the doping ability of the TeO2-ZnO-BaO glassy system with Er(3+) ions is presented to achieve strong Stokes/upconversion photoluminescence (UPL) emission and to determine the optimal experimental conditions for conducting Judd-Ofelt (JO) analysis in Er-doped materials using the newly introduced Combinatorial JO analysis in this work. Selected glassy samples across the TeO(2)-ZnO-BaO glass-forming region following the concentration trends of each constituent oxide were uniformly doped with 0.2 mol. % of Er(2)O(3) but only those with high BaO content were found to be amorphous and optically homogenous. These samples exhibit strong photoluminescence (approximate to 1.5 µm, approximate to 2.7 µm) and UPL emission from visible to near-infrared spectral region. The intensities of Er(3+) intra-4f electronic transitions were calculated on the basis of classical JO theory with derived phenomenological Ω(2,4,6) parameters. Combinatorial analysis was introduced and employed to calculate JO parameters using all observed absorption bands and their mutual combinations. The presented results then enable the identification of critical absorption band combinations necessary for accurate JO analysis in Er(3+)-doped materials, ensuring consistent and reliable outcomes. Furthermore, these findings facilitate the recognition of suboptimal experimental conditions for performing JO analysis in other materials containing Er(3+) ions.