Structural, Physical and Optical studies of Sc3+ doped Lithium Aluminum Borate glasses

Abstract Optically transparent lithium aluminum borate containing scandium glasses with composition 70B 2 O 3 – 20Li 2 O – (10 – x) Al 2 O 3 – xSc 2 O 3 (where x= 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6 and 0.7 in mol %) were fabricated by conventional melt quenching technique. The non-crystalline nature of the samples was monitored by X-ray diffraction and it confirms non-crystalline nature. Structure of the fabricated glasses are assessed using the Fourier transform infrared spectra. The absorption spectra of these glasses have been recorded in the wavelength range 200 nm – 1100 nm. Direct and indirect optical energy band gaps were calculated from Tauc’s plots. The physical parameters such as refractive index (RI), optical basicity and interaction parameters were determined using proper formulas to know the characteristics of fabricated glass matrix. The results obtained indicate that 0.3 mol% Sc 2 O 3 -containing BLASc glass is more suitable for w-LEDs and lasers applications.