The optical properties of Dy3+ ions in lead borate and bismuth borate glasses are studied as a function of glass composition with PbO content (29.5 to 69.5mol%) and Bi2O3 content (29.5 to 59.5 mol%). We also studied the effect of metal and semiconducting nanoparticles on the absorption and fluorescence emission of Dy3+ ions in both lead and bismuth borate glasses. The absorption coefficient at each wavelength is obtained from the optical absorption spectrum of a glass sample, and the number density of rare-earth (RE) ions is calculated from the measurement of the glass density. These two parameters are then used to calculate the oscillator strength of each transition using Judd-Ofelt theory. Using the oscillator strength for each transition, we obtained the intensity parameters which represent changes in the symmetry of the ligand field at the Dy 3+ site (due to structural group changes and changes in Dy-O covalency). Radiative transition probabilities, the radiative lifetime of the excited states and the branching ratios are then obtained from these intensity parameters. The fluorescence spectra, obtained using 355 nm and 458 nm laser excitation, are analyzed by determining the area ratio of yellow/blue (Y/B) peaks and the wavelength of the hypersensitive transition (HST). The compositional dependence and effect of nanoparticles on the stimulated emission cross-section (sigmap), are then evaluated using radiative transition probability, the refractive index of the host glass, effective fluorescence linewidth, and the position of the band. In all of the glass systems, it was found that the optical properties are strongly influenced by structural changes arising from compositional variation and size of nanoparticles. Dy 3+ transitions exhibit large sigmap suggesting the possible utilization of these materials in laser applications.
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