Cu-Na ion exchange soda-lime glass planar waveguides and their photoluminescence

Copper ion exchange technique was used to fabricate soda-lime glass planar waveguides. Prism coupling method was applied to measure the effective indices, and the refractive index profiles were reconstructed through Inverse WKB (IWKB) method. Optical absorption and photoluminescence analysis were carried out as well. The emission spectra centered at 520nm are attributed to Cu⁺ located in distorted octahedral sites. It was found that the ion exchange time and temperature both play an important role in the waveguides luminescence properties. The emission spectra intensities decrease with the ion exchange time increasing. The emission peak wavelength slightly blue shifts as the ion-exchange time increasing as well. The emission band intensity nearly increases consistently with the ion-exchange temperature increasing within proper ion-exchange time. Different excitation wavelengths were tested as well in order to study the site effect on photoluminescence properties.