Effect of Samarium Ions on Physical and Optical Properties of Zinc Borotellurite Glass System

Modifying the physical and optical properties of zinc borotellurite glasses by controlling rare earth (RE) doping is important in order to obtain high quality glass. In this study, Samarium (Sm3+) doped zinc borotellurite glasses were successfully fabricated by using conventional melt-quenching technique with chemical composition (where x = 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 mol%). The physical properties by mean of their density as well as molar volume were measured while the optical properties have been studied through UV-Vis spectroscopy in order to determine the optical band gap (Eopt) and Urbach energy (ΔΕ) of the glass system. Optical absorption spectra of the glass samples were recorded in the range 350 nm - 750 nm at room temperature. The amorphous nature of the glass was confirmed from X-ray diffraction techniques. The density and molar volume of the glass samples were found to vary with respect to Sm3+ ions content. The value of optical band gap, Eopt lies between 2.605 eV to 2.982 eV for the direct transition and 2.768 eV to 3.198 eV for the indirect transition respectively. Meanwhile, the Urbach energy, ΔE was observed in the range of 0.112 eV to 0.694 eV respectively. The physical and optical properties were found to be strongly affected by the varying concentration of Sm3+ ions. Some other results will be analysed and discussed in detail.