Structural, physical, optical, and magnetic properties of borate-barium-titanate-lithium glasses: role of Er₂O₃

Improving the structural, physical, optical, and magnetic properties of glass doped with erbium ions is important to produce optic fiber communication systems. In this study, the melt-quenching method was used to prepare the glass composition of (70 - x)B2O3 + 10BaTiO(3) + 20Li(2)O + xEr(2)O(3), where x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1 mol%. Extensive investigations have been carried out to examine the structural, thermal physical, optical, and magnetic properties of these glasses. The X-ray diffraction patterns showed an amorphous nature, while the Raman spectroscopy revealed that the intensity of the bands decreased with increasing ratios of Er2O3 to the host glass matrix. The incorporation of erbium ions into the glass system results in a rise in the glass transition and crystallization temperatures, which in turn will influence the thermal stability of the glass. All relevant physical parameters were computed and analyzed to study the influence of varying concentrations of Er2O3 on the properties of the host glass. The density, molar volume, and field strength increased while the inter-atomic distance, polaron radius, packing density, and oxygen packing density decreased with increasing Er2O3 content. The optical energy bandgap obtained from Tauc's plot has been employed for the computation of the refractive index. Additional optical parameters were determined, such as numerical aperture, molar refractivity, electronic polarizability, reflection loss, and optical transmission. Direct and indirect energy gap, refractive index, molar refraction, electronic polarizability, and dielectric constant refraction losses are increased, while optical transmission and metallization are decreased with increasing Er2O3 content. All the prepared glass samples displayed ferromagnetic behavior and achieved magnetic saturation. Overall, the results obtained from the analysis of the optical properties of the synthesized glass indicate its potential for use in various applications, particularly in the field of optoelectronics.