Optical characterization of Cu ion-doped zinc lead borate glasses

We have developed a new series of zinc lead borate (ZLB) glasses by varying ZnO content, to enhance UV transmission, in the chemical composition of xZnO-15PbO-(85−x)B₂O₃, where x=0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 mol% ZnO. From the measurement of UV absorption spectra both the direct and indirect band gaps have been evaluated. Also different physical properties of a reference glass of 45ZnO-15PbO-40B₂O₃ have been studied. From the measurement of refractive indices at six different wavelengths, Cauchy's constants (A=1.578743209; and ) have been computed and a satisfactory correlation has been achieved between the theoretical and the experimental results. Absorption spectra of Cu²⁺(45−x)ZnO-15PbO-40B₂O₃ (where x=0.1, 0.2, 0.5 and 1.0 mol%) have shown two absorption bands at 428 nm (²B_1g→²E_g) and 777 nm (²B_1g→²B_2g). Emission spectra of (1.0 mol%) Cu²⁺:ZLB have revealed two emission transitions at 400 and 493 nm with excitations at 288 and 316 nm.