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

Abstract

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.