Fabrication and characterisation of neodymium-doped silica glass by sol-gel process

Neodymium-doped silica glass possesses many properties ideal for high-power laser applications. These include low thermal expansion coefficient, high temperature stability, and low nonlinear index of refraction. For the first time, the sol-gel process has been successfully employed to prepare highly doped neodymia silica glass, up to 5wt% Nd for homogeneous dopant distribution. The optical characteristics of the silica glass and its in-process gel, including the UV/VIS absorption spectra, infrared absorption spectra, fluorescence emission spectrum and the fluorescence lifetime, are measured and analyzed. The structure of the sample is also characterized by means of XRD and SEM. A porous gel is observed to have formed when the heat treatment temperature reaches 300°C. Wavelength shifts in the absorption peak corresponding to the ⁴I^9/2 to ⁴F_5/2 transition have been observed during the densification process and for different Nd weight contents. The FTIR spectra have shown that high temperature heat treatment can greatly reduce the amount of OH groups and organic residue in the silica. We have also shown that a high OH content contributes to weak fluorescence intensity and short fluorescence lifetimes.