Effect of silver nanoparticles on the spectral properties of rare-earth ions in a sodium borate glass

Silver doped sodium borate glass was made by the melt quenching technique. As made glass, did not reveal any absorption transitions in the visible or ultraviolet region. Differential scanning calorimeter was used to measure glass transition temperature. Heat treated glass revealed absorption peak at 410 nm due to surface plasmon resonance. Under violet laser excitation the glass revealed emission at 450 - 620 nm, whose lifetimes are more than 30 mu s. Under near resonant excitation it revealed intense Raman scattering. We also made multielement oxide glasses co-doped with silver and Er3+ and performed spectroscopic studies. Energy upconversion was observed from Er3+ at 415 nm in a 2% Ag co-doped oxide glass but not in other glasses. Infrared to visible upconversion studies were performed in all these glasses under near-infrared laser excitation. 2% Ag doped glass exhibited enhanced upconversion signals from erbium than that of other glasses.