Thermal, mechanical and optical studies of copper ion-doped glass material for the band pass filter

Copper ion-doped glass material is prepared by melt quenching technique. A significant increase has been observed in the values of density and refractive index of this non-crystalline material with the increase in concentration levels of copper in the glass composition. Thermal properties of present glasses have been evaluated and Hruby’s criterion value KH = 0.4051 reveals exceptional stability of this glass material. Mechanical properties like coefficient of friction, specific wear rate, specific wear energy and Vicker’s micro-hardness of the present glasses have been investigated. Optical absorption occurred in ultraviolet, visible and near infra-red regions. The optical direct bandgap decreased from 2.94 to 2.93 eV and the indirect bandgap decreased from 2.92 to 2.89 eV with the uniform increase in the copper ion concentration, and revealed semiconductor nature of the material which is useful for protecting the solar cell. The transmission studies unravel the utility of the material as band pass filter in UV region at 366.21, 378.63 and 385.16 nm and having full-wave half-maximum (FWHM) 5.46, 3.74, and 13.74 nm and in the visible region at 415.49 nm with a full-width half-maximum width (FWHM) 2.56 nm.