Investigating optical properties of ITO thin film grown by RF sputtering

Indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films of different thickness were successfully grown on the corning glass substrate using radio frequency magnetron sputtering technique. All the sample were undergone heat treatment at temperature of 600 ºC for 4 hours inside a furnace. The measurement of the thickness have been performed using surface profiler and optical properties have been studied using UV-VIS spectroscopy in wavelength regime 200-2500 nm for determination of energy band gap. Energy band gap was calculated based on the optical transmittance and photon energy and being measured in range of 2.76 eV – 3.54 eV while the transmittance was approximately 90 %

Physical, optical and radiative properties of CaSO4–B2O3–P2O5 glasses doped with Sm3+ions

Trivalent rare earth ions doped borosulfophosphate glasses are in high demand owing to their several unique attributes that are advantageous for applications in diverse photonic devices. Thus, Sm3+ ion doped calcium sulfoborophosphate glasses with composition of 25CaSO4–30B2O3–(45−x)P2O5–xSm2O3 (where x = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 1.0 mol%) were synthesized using melt-quenching technique. X-ray diffraction confirmed the amorphous nature of the prepared glass samples. Differential thermal analyses show transition peaks for melting temperature, glass transition and crystallization temperature. The glass stability is found in the range 91 °C to 116 °C which shows increased stability with addition of Sm2O3 concentration. The Fourier transform infrared spectral measurements carried out showed the presence of vibration bands due to P–O linkage, BO3, BO4, PO4, P–O–P, O–P–O, S–O–B, and B–O–B unit. Glass density showed increase in value from 2.179 to 2.251 g cm−3 with increase in Sm2O3 concentration. The direct, indirect band gap and Urbach energy calculated were found to be within 4.368–4.184 eV, 3.641–3.488 eV and 0.323–0.282 eV energy ranges, respectively. The absorption spectra revealed ten prominent peaks centered at 365, 400, 471, 941, 1075, 1228, 1375, 1477, 1528 and 1597 nm corresponding to 4D3/2,6H5/2→4I11/2,6P3/2, 6F11/2, 6F9/2, 6F7/2, 6F5/2, 6F3/2, 6H15/2 and 6F1/2 transitions respectively. Photoluminescence spectra monitored at the excitation of 398 nm exhibits four emission bands positioned at 559, 596,643 and 709 nm corresponding to 4G5/2→6H5/2, 6H7/2, 6H9/2 and 6H11/2 transitions respectively. The nephelauxetic parameters calculated showed good influence on the local environment within the samarium ions site and the state of the Sm–O bond. The Judd–Ofelt intensity parameters calculated for all glass samples revealed that Ω6> Ω4> Ω2. The emission cross-section and the branching ratios values obtained for 4G5/2→6H7/2 transition indicate its suitability for LEDs and solid-state laser application

Electronic and optical correlation effects in bulk gold: role of spine-orbit coupling

The modified Becke-Johnson exchange potential proposed by Tran and Blaha (TB-mBJ) is useful for accurate calculations of electronic band structures of solids. In this view, we used such potential together with spin–orbit coupling to calculate the electronic and optical correlation effects in bulk gold (Au) via first principle DFT. Inclusion of the relativistic effects in the simulation were found to play vital role on the optical properties of bulk Au. Furthermore, the imaginary part of the dielectric function of Au disclosed good agreement with the experimental results. Disclosure of good agreement between simulation and experimental results (up to Fermi level) was due to the improvement in the band structure of bulk Au achieved by incorporating spin–orbit coupling

The role of dysprosium ions on the physical and optical properties of lithium-borosulfophosphate glasses

Achieving outstanding physical and optical properties of borosulfophosphate glasses via controlled doping of rare earth ions is the key issue in the fabrication of new and highly-efficient glass material for diverse optical applications. Thus, the effect of replacing P2O5 by Dy2O3 on the physical and optical properties of Dy3+-doped lithium-borosulfophosphate glasses with chemical composition of 15Li2O-30B2O3-15SO3-(40 - x)P2O5-xDy2O3 (where 0.0 mol.% ≤ x ≪ 1.0 mol.%) has been investigated. The glass samples were synthesized from high-purity raw materials via convectional melt-quenching technique and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX), density and UV-vis-NIR absorption measurements. The amorphous nature of the prepared glass samples was confirmed by XRD patterns whereas the EDX spectrum depicts elemental traces of O, C, B, S, P and Dy. The physical parameters such as density, refractive index, molar volume, polaron radius and field strength were found to vary nonlinearly with increasing Dy2O3 concentration. UV-vis-NIR absorption spectra revealed seven absorption bands with most dominant peak at 1269 nm (6H15/2 →6F11/2 +6H9/2). From the optical absorption spectra, the optical bandgap and Urbach's energy have been determined and are related with the structural changes occurring in these glasses with increase in Dy2O3 content. Meanwhile, the bonding parameters (δ) evaluated from the optical absorption spectra were found to be ionic in nature. The superior features exhibited by the current glasses nominate them as potential candidate for nonlinear optical applications

Impact of Eu3+ on the luminescent, physical and optical properties of BaSO4 – B2O3 – P2O5 glasses

The investigations of the impact on the luminescent, physical and optical properties of Alkaline earth metal borophosphate glasses doped with rare earth (RE) ions became demanding owing to their several distinct features that are advantageous for applications in diverse photonic devices. A new series of BaSO4 – B2O3 – P2O5 glasses doped Eu3+ with different compositions of 25BaSO4 – 30B2O3 – (45-x) P2O5 – xEu2O3 (where x = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1.0, 2.0 and 2.1 mol%) were prepared by melt – quenching technique. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope examined the amorphous state of the prepared glasses. Differential thermal analyser was used to determine the transition peaks. Some of their physical properties have been calculated. The direct band gap, indirect band gap and urbach energy were found to be within (4.654–4.199 eV), (3.902–3.656 eV) and (0.576–0.428 eV). The absorption spectra in the UV–vis and near infrared region revealed seven prominent peaks centred at 379, 393, 414, 463, 532, 2091 and 2206 nm corresponding to 7F0 → 5G2, 5L6, 5D3, 5D2, 5D1, 7F0 → 7F6 and 7F1 → 7F6 transitions respectively. Photoluminescence spectra monitoring at the excitation of 391 nm exhibits four emissions band positioned at 591, 613, 655 and 701 nm corresponding to 5D0 → 7F1, 7F2, 7F3 and 7F4 transition of Eu3+ ions. Judd-ofelt parameters have been calculated. The decay time of 5D0 level decreases from 2.02 to 1.52 ms. The excellent features demonstrated by the current glasses affirm their suitability for solid state lasers and red LEDs applications

Structural, optical and physical properties of Dy3+ ions in barium sulphate borophosphate glasses for generation of white light

Glasses in the 25BaSO4-30B2O3-(45 -x)P2O5-xDy2O3 system with x = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 1.0 mol% have been prepared by the melt quenching approach with the aim of using it for optical and white light application. The structural properties are examined by Fourier transform infrared and Raman spectroscopy. The amorphous state of the glasses matrices is determined by X-ray diffraction. Direct and indirect energy bandgap have been evaluated via the data found from UV-visible-near IR spectroscopy. The spectral absorption, emission and excitation are measured, and it is found that the glass doped Dy2O3 ions display good UV-excited luminescence of 4F9/2 6H15/2 and 4F9/2 6H13/2 transition around 480-500 and 570-600 nm corresponding to blue and yellow regions respectively. The physical parameters of the glasses have also been calculated. Infrared and Raman of the borosulfophosphate glasses revealed intense spectrum which is characterized by distinct bands

The effect of Nd2O3 content on the properties and structure of Nd3+ doped TeO2–MgO–Na2O- glass

Understanding the influence of rare-earth ions (REIs) in tellurite glass is crucial for the development of efficient solid state laser. In this work, tellurite glasses containing Nd2O3 (0–2.0 mol%) were prepared via melt-quenching method to unveil the effect of different Nd3+composition in the environment of tellurite glass. The prepared glasses were characterized using several techniques to determine their physical, thermal, structural, optical properties and the lasing performance. XRD analysis confirmed the amorphous nature of the proposed glasses. Raman analysis shows that the glass with high content of Nd3+ experienced changes in network structure. Seven well-defined absorption bands from UV–Vis absorption spectra shows the transition from the ground state (4I3/2) to several excited states of Nd3+. The negative bonding parameter proved the ionic character possessed by Nd3+and ligands. The Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters (Ω2, Ω4, Ω6) and radiative properties were determined by Judd-Ofelt theory. The photoluminescence spectra (PL) revealed the lasing potency of the prepared glass in the infrared region at 0.87 μm, 1.06 μm, and 1.30 μm due to efficient emissions from 4F3/2 → 4I9/2, 4F3/2 → 4I11/2, and 4F3/2 → 4I13/2 transition respectively. The glass containing 0.5 mol% of Nd2O3 exhibited high stimulated emission cross-section (3.63 × 10−20 cm2), high quantum efficiency (57.47%), longer decay lifetime (177.61 μs), high optical gain (11.20 × 10−24 cm2) and low saturation intensity Is (2.91 × 108 W/m2) for 4F3/2 → 4I11/2 transition, revealing its suitability for 1.06 μm solid-state laser

Antimony sulphide, an absorber layer for solar cell application

Replacement of the toxic, expensive and scarce materials with nontoxic, cheap and earth-abundant one, in solar cell absorber layer, is immensely needed to realize the vision of green and sustainable energy. Two-micrometre-thin antimony sulphide film is considered to be adequate as an absorbing layer in solar cell applications. In this paper, we synthesize antimony sulphide thin films on glass substrate by physical vapour deposition technique, and the obtained films were then annealed at different temperatures (150–250 °C). The as-deposited and annealed samples were investigated for structural and optoelectronic properties using different characterization techniques. The X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the annealed samples were polycrystalline with Sb2S3 phase, while the as-deposited sample was amorphous in nature. The optical properties are measured via optical ellipsometric techniques. The measured absorbance of the film is adequately high, and every photon is found to be absorbed in visible and NIR range. The conductivity type of the films measured by hot-point probe technique is determined to be p-type. The optical band gap of the resulted samples was in the range (2.4–1.3 eV) for the as-deposited and annealed films