Local environment regulation and performance analysis in Nd3+-doped SiO2-Al(PO3)3 binary composite glass

Abstract To observe and regulate the surroundings of Nd3 + in silica glass, Nd3 +-doped quartz-based composite glass was successfully prepared by the mixing and high-temperature sintering of 95 mol% SiO2 powder with 5 mol% Nd3 +:Al(PO3)3 glass powder. The spectroscopic properties of the composite glass were studied. The results showed that the emission peak wavelengths of Nd3 + were closer to that of the phosphate glass than of quartz glass, although the proportion of silica was much higher than that of phosphate. In order to determine the coordination environment of Nd3 + in the composite glass, the Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters were calculated and the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra were measured. The results indicated that Nd3 + interacted strongly with P5 +, which led to a better dispersion of Nd3 + in the composite glass. Finally, structural analyses of the glasses were performed through Raman and infrared spectroscopy. Based on these results, we concluded that the coordination environment around Nd3 + could be effectively regulated by our proposed multistep preparation method.