Low concentration Sm³⁺ ions loaded zinc sodium borate glasses for solid state lighting devices

Herein, zinc sodium borate glasses containing samarium ions were fabricated using the traditional melt-quenching approach and explored using several spectroscopic and structural methods. The XRD data corroborated the host glass specimen's non-crystalline nature. Scanning electron microscopy and the energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy method were utilized to study the morphological and homogenous attributes. The UV–Vis–NIR wavelengths of absorption showed a total of seventeen distinct Sm³⁺ ion peaks. The three transitions ⁴G_5/2 → ⁶H_9/2, ⁶H_7/2, and ⁶H_5/2 are evident in the PL data at wavelengths of 644, 597, and 561 nm, respectively, in the red, reddish-orange, and greenish-yellow zones. The luminescence intensity of the investigated glass specimens increases up to 0.4 mol% Sm³⁺ ion content thereafter reducing because of the non-radiative transfer of energy. The estimated JO intensity parameters exhibit a trend of Ω₂>Ω₄>Ω₆. The trend of the assessed radiative parameters also demonstrated that they are sensitive to changes in the glass network. The Futchbauer-Ladenburgh theory was used to compute the emission cross-section of various transitions utilizing the radiative parameters. The 1931 CIE chromaticity coordinates assessments corroborate the reddish-orange luminescence from the fabricated glasses. The outcomes have proven that obtained BNZSm_x glasses doped with low concentrations of trivalent samarium ions are well suited for reddish-orange solid-state lighting systems.