Influence of water on non-radiative decay of Yb3+–2F5/2 level in phosphate glass

Abstract The total decay rate and hydroxyl concentration of glass compositions of 60PO 5/2 –15AlO 3/2 –5BO 3/2 –15KO 1/2 –5NbO 5/2 – x YbO 3/2 ( x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1, 2, 5) with very low hydroxyl content were measured. The concentration of hydroxyl groups ranged from 2.4 × 10 19 ions/cm 3 to 2.9 × 10 20 ions/cm 3 . A linear relationship was obtained between the total decay rate and the product of hydroxyl concentration and concentration of Yb 3+ ions. Thus, it was estimated that the interaction constant of the probability of hydroxyl quenching is 8.0 × 10 −52 m 6 /s. We compared the interaction constants of Yb 3+ in phosphate glasses. These were different but did not change in order of magnitude. The quantum efficiency can be estimated using the value for the known hydroxyl content. In our glass of x = 2, if the hydroxyl concentration is below 2.4 × 10 19 ions/cm 3 , the probability of hydroxyl quenching can be ignored. The total decay rate was found to be consistent with the spontaneous emission decay rate.