Pre-crystallization heat treatment and infrared luminescence enhancement in Ni2+-doped transparent glass-ceramics

• Published in: Journal of non-crystalline solids Vol. 515; pp. 42 - 49
• Main Authors: Golubev, N.V., Ignat'eva, E.S., Mashinsky, V.M., Kozlova, Е.О., Sigaev, V.N., Monguzzi, A., Paleari, A., Lorenzi, R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.07.2019
• Subjects: Crystallization; Ga2O3; Glass-ceramics; Luminescence; Nanocrystals; Nucleation; Glass-ceramics; Ga2O3; Nucleation; Nanocrystals; Luminescence; Crystallization
• ISSN: 0022-3093; 1873-4812
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2019.04.006

We report on design and fabrication of Ni2+-doped glass-ceramics from a low-alkali optical glass in Li2O-Na2O-Ga2O3-SiO2-GeO2 system by melting technique and subsequent thermally controlled nano-crystallization. The analysis of differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy reveals, for the first time, the real possibility of optimizing the integrated intensity of Ni2+ near-infrared emission through controlled pre-treatments at temperatures of nanophase nucleation, with the enhancement up to a factor of four with respect to gallium germanosilicate glass-ceramics obtained without pre-treatments. Importantly, the effects on the light emission are shown to be related to the influence of pre-treatment on size and size distribution of the gallium oxide nanocrystals which result from subsequent crystallization at higher temperature. •The conditions are determined for effective nucleation in Ga-containing oxide glass.•Transparent glass-ceramics are fabricated with increased amount of crystal phase.•Ni2+ luminescence intensity is increased up to a factor of four by nucleation control.