The effect of PbF2 content on the microstructure and upconversion luminescence of Er3+-doped SiO2–PbF2–PbO glass ceramics

The Er3+ doped transparent oxyfluoride glass ceramics were obtained by appropriate heat treatment of the precursor glasses with composition (mol%) 50SiO2–xPbF2–(50 − x)PbO–0.5ErF3. The microstructure and optical properties of the glasses and glass ceramics were determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), absorption spectra and luminescence spectra. The intensity of upconversion luminescence significantly increased in glass ceramics compared to that in precursor glass. The emission bands centered around 660 nm (4F9/2 → 4I15/2) and 410 nm (2H9/2 → 4I15/2) were simultaneously observed in glass ceramics but cannot be seen in the corresponding precursor glass. The influence of different PbF2 content on the microstructure and upconversion luminescence of the samples was analyzed in detail. The results indicated that with the increase of PbF2 content, the Ω2 was almost the same and the ratios of red to green upconversion luminescence decreased in glass ceramics.