Nd3+-doped mixed alkaline-earth zinc silico-aluminate glass: Insights on its 1069 nm spectral performance parameters

Mixed alkaline-earth zinc silico-aluminate glass doped with varied molar concentrations of Nd2O3 (0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 0.75, and 1 mol.%) were synthesized by open-air melt-quenching method and analyzed essential spectral performance parameters are reported in this manuscript. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) images confirm the noncrystalline nature of the prepared glasses. All the developed glasses depict good thermal stability and mechanical properties along with low non-linear refractive indices and linear coefficients of thermal expansion. Among all the prepared glasses, Nd0.5 glass shows optimum properties in terms of thermal, optical, and emission properties. Nd0.5 glass exhibits the highest peak stimulated emission cross-section of 7.18 x 10-20 cm2 at 1069 nm (4F3/2 -> 4I11/2 transition) with a broad emission bandwidth of 42.8 nm under 808 nm excitation. Further, its high optical gain (18.24 x 10-24 cm2 s), figure of merit (17.66 x 10-24 cm2 s), gain bandwidth (3.07 x 10-25 cm3) along with good quantum efficiency (96.8 %), and low saturation intensity (1.05 x 108 W/m2) implies that the Nd0.5 glass is a promising laser gain medium at 1069 nm.