Formation and thermo-assisted stabilization of luminescent silver clusters in photosensitive glasses

Kevin Bourhis (1) , Arnaud Royon (2) , Gautier Papon (2) , Matthieu Bellec (2) , Yannick Petit (1) , Lionel Canioni (2) , Marc Dussauze (3) , Vincent Rodriguez (3) , Laurent Binet (4) , Daniel Caurant (4) , Mona Tréguer-Delapierre (1) , Jean-Jacques Videau (1) , Thierry Cardinal (1)

1 ICMCB - Institut de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Bordeaux
2 LOMA - Laboratoire Ondes et Matière d'Aquitaine
3 ISM - Institut des Sciences Moléculaires
4 LCMCP (site ENSCP) - Laboratoire de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Paris (site ENSCP)

Various photo-induced silver luminescent centres were obtained in photosensitive zinc and phosphate glasses containing silver ions after exposure to gamma or ultraviolet nanosecond pulsed-laser radiation. Gamma-irradiation of the glasses results mainly in the formation within the glass of electron-trapped and hole-trapped silver centres as evidenced by optical absorption, luminescence and electron spin resonance spectroscopies. For the highest irradiation doses silver clusters are obtained. Under ultraviolet nanosecond pulsed-laser exposure similar species are generated along the beam propagation direction as proven by the analogous optical and luminescence signatures. In this case for high irradiation doses few silver clusters are created. The evolution of the luminescence spectra with respect to the temperature and to the duration of the heat treatment after ultraviolet nanosecond pulsed-laser irradiation evidences the presence of potential barriers determining the stability limits of some species such as the Ag2+ hole-trapped centres or the Agmx+ clusters composed of silver ions and silver atoms. A heat treatment of several hundreds of degrees is identified as a the key parameter for tailoring the optical properties and controlling the formation of Agmx+ clusters in the photosensitive glasses.

Mots clés: Optical materials; Electronic paramagnetic resonance (EPR); Luminescence; Color centers; Optical properties

Domaines: Matériaux

Kevin Bourhis, Arnaud Royon, Gautier Papon, Matthieu Bellec, Yannick Petit, et al.. Formation and thermo-assisted stabilization of luminescent silver clusters in photosensitive glasses. Materials Research Bulletin, 2013, 48 (4), pp.1637-1644. ⟨10.1016/j.materresbull.2013.01.003⟩. ⟨hal-00809461⟩