Titania nanoparticles embedded Er³⁺-Sm³⁺ co-doped sulfophosphate glass: Judd-Ofelt parameters and spectroscopic properties enhancement

The conventional melt quenching method was used to synthesis erbium and samarium ions co-doped sulfophosphate glasses containing TiO₂ nanoparticles with the molar compositions of (58.0-x)P₂O₅-20.0MgO-20.0ZnSO₄-1.0Sm₂O₃-1.0Er₂O₃-xTiO₂ with x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0 mol%. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique was applied to verify that the nature of fabricated glass samples is of amorphous type. Judd-Ofelt (JO) intensity (Ω_i) parameters were determined through spectral data provided in the investigations conducted on the optical absorption. The applied JO parameterization illustrates the covalency related to rare-earth (RE) ions and ligands. For some given lasing levels, the radiative parameters were estimated including branching ratios (β_R), radiative lifetimes (τ_R), and radiative transition probabilities (A). The photoluminescence spectra provided in some studies are used to evaluate the stimulated emission cross-sections (σ_p^E) for some important lasing transitions including ⁴G_5/2→⁶H_5/2, ⁴G_5/2→⁶H_7/2, and ⁴G_5/2→⁶H_9/2. The determined radiative parameters are potential options as a candidate for lasing.