Classical and combinatorial Judd–Ofelt analysis of spectroscopic properties in Er-doped materials: TeO2–ZnO–BaO:Er3+ glasses

🔬 New Publication Alert | Journal of Physics: Photonics (IOP Publishing)
📄 “Classical and combinatorial Judd–Ofelt analysis of spectroscopic properties in Er-doped materials: TeO₂–ZnO–BaO:Er³⁺ glasses”
👉 https://lnkd.in/gx7rreAh

As it is usual in my case, with some delay, I am excited to share our important work introducing the Combinatorial Judd–Ofelt (C-JO) analysis, a new extension of the classical Judd–Ofelt theory for rare-earth spectroscopy.

🔹 What’s new?
While the classical Judd–Ofelt (JO) theory has been the cornerstone for interpreting 4f–4f transition intensities for 60+ years, it often suffers from inconsistencies due to experimental conditions and arbitrary selection of absorption bands.
To address this, we developed the Combinatorial JO (C-JO) method, a systematic approach that evaluates all possible combinations of observed transitions to identify the critical absorption bands necessary for accurate, stable, and reproducible JO parameter extraction (Ω₂, Ω₄, Ω₆).

🔹 Why it matters
C-JO provides a robust statistical framework for comparing spectroscopic data across different materials and experiments – reducing bias and improving reliability in rare-earth-doped systems.

🔹 In this study
We applied both classical and combinatorial JO analyses to Er³⁺-doped TeO₂–ZnO–BaO glasses, demonstrating:
– Consistent JO parameters after introducing the C-JO methodology
– Identification of unsuitable absorption-band combinations that lead to inconsistent results (~30% of cases)
– High glass stability and strong Stokes/upconversion luminescence (1.55 µm, 2.7 µm, visible–NIR)

This work establishes the Combinatorial JO analysis as a reproducible framework for next-generation optical materials research.

👥 Collaboration: Charles University · FZU – Institute of Physics (CAS) · UCT Prague · University of Pardubice

ABSTRACT:

A systematic study of the doping ability of the TeO₂–ZnO–BaO glassy system with Er³⁺ ions is presented to achieve strong Stokes/upconversion photoluminescence (UPL) emission and to determine the optimal experimental conditions for conducting Judd–Ofelt (JO) analysis in Er-doped materials using the newly introduced Combinatorial JO analysis in this work. Selected glassy samples across the TeO₂–ZnO–BaO glass-forming region following the concentration trends of each constituent oxide were uniformly doped with 0.2 mol.% of Er₂O₃ but only those with high BaO content were found to be amorphous and optically homogenous. These samples exhibit strong photoluminescence (1.5 um, 2.7 um) and UPL emission from visible to near-infrared spectral region. The intensities of Er³⁺ intra-4f electronic transitions were calculated on the basis of classical JO theory with derived phenomenological parameters. Combinatorial analysis was introduced and employed to calculate JO parameters using all observed absorption bands and their mutual combinations. The presented results then enable the identification of critical absorption band combinations necessary for accurate JO analysis in Er³⁺-doped materials, ensuring consistent and reliable outcomes. Furthermore, these findings facilitate the recognition of suboptimal experimental conditions for performing JO analysis in other materials containing Er³⁺ ions.