Efficacy of Eu3+ on improving the near-infrared optical nonlinearities and optical limiting properties of antimony sodium borate glasses

摘要

Efficacy of Eu3+ ions nonlinear optical and optical limiting performances of antimony sodium borate gasses was investigated and discussed in detail. Nonlinear optical absorption and refraction features were evaluated in open and closed aperture Z-scan modes, respectively. The open aperture Z-scan profiles of the glasses demonstrated a reverse saturable absorption behaviour attributed to two photon absorption. The closed aperture Z-scan profiles exhibited positive type nonlinear refraction due to self-focusing effect. The two photon absorption coefficients demonstrated an increasing trend while the optical limiting threshold values demonstrated a decreasing trend as the function of Eu3+ concentration in the composition. This improved two photon absorption and decreased OL threshold coefficients with respect to Eu2O3 concentration in the compositions endorse the glasses as contending materials for the fabrication of optical limiters, which are promising use for protection of eyes and other sensitive instruments from laser induced damages.