Laser-assisted formation of luminescent domains in metal- or semiconductor-doped silicate and phosphate glasses

Abstract In this study, silicate and phosphate glasses doped with Ag or CdS were exposed to femtosecond laser pulses and photoluminescence properties of the laser-written domains were investigated. Laser writing in phosphate glass doped with CdS was found to induce very weak photoluminescence, while laser-written domains in silicate glass had a comparatively high photoluminescence intensity, that was assigned to the formation of the sulphur vacancies in the CdS nanocrystals precipitated under the ultrafast laser pulses. Observed photoluminescence bands in Ag-containing glasses we assigned to the formation of different silver nanospecies which provide photoluminescence bands with the maxima at 685 and 600 nm in Ag-doped silicate and phosphate glasses, respectively.