Exploring the physical, vibrational, optical, and dielectric properties of chromium-doped bismo-borate barium glasses for potential use in optical applications

This study investigates the synthesis, physical, vibrational, optical, and dielectric characteristics of bismuth-borate barium glasses doped with chromium, with the aim of exploring their potential for use in optical applications. The chemical formula of the proposed glasses was (70-x)B2O3 − 10Bi2O3 − 20BaO − xCrO3: x = 0 (BBBCr0.0) − 0.5 (BBBCr0.5) mol%. The structure nature was examined. The physical features, FTIR spectroscopy, and linear/nonlinear optical properties have been investigated. Based on the XRD measurements, the prepared glasses were amorphous in nature. The density (ρ) of the glasses slightly decreased, while the molar volume (Vm) increased with increasing CrO3 content in the glass network. The percentage fraction of BO4 (N4) gradually increased at the expense of the percentage fraction of BO3 (N3) as the chromium content increased up to 0.2 mol%. However, for concentrations of chromium over 0.2 mol%, a reverse transformation from BO4 to BO3 was detected. The optical energy bands (Eg) changed from 3.07 to 1.41 eV, whereas the linear refractive index (n0) changed from 2.38 to 2.98 for BBBCr-glasses. The metallization criterion (M) values ranged from 0.392 to 0.265, indicating that the glasses have a wide range of potential for use in various optical applications. In addition, the nonlinear refractive index (n2) values ranged from 3.26 × 10−11 to 26.35 × 10−11 (esu), while the χ(3) values varied from 5.16 × 10−12 to 33.34 × 10−12 (esu) for the BBBCr-glasses with chromium concentrations ranging from 0.0 to 0.5 mol%. The real part of permittivity has the same value with chromium doping up to 0.2 mol% and then it is highly increased for concentrations greater than 0.2 mol%. The findings of this study highlight the potential of bismuth-borate barium glasses doped with chromium as a highly versatile and adaptable material for use in a range of optical applications.