Enhanced UC and IR luminescence properties regulated by tight network structure in multicomponent glasses

Lanthanide-doped optical functional glasses have received substantial attention in recent years owing to their excellent upconversion (UC) and infrared (IR) performance pumping when used in a semiconductor laser. In this study, the luminescence properties of Ho³⁺ ions were improved through the design of components used to modulate the microenvironment of the glass. To the best of our knowledge, this is a novel approach to enhancing the UC and IR emissions, and results in up to more than 130% improvement by regulating a tight network glass structure. Herein, the specific preparation design and investigations into the thermal, structural and luminescence properties are described, the results of which indicate that such ZnO-modified germanosilicate (SG-Zn) multicomponent glasses are promising candidates in the fields of biological security marking, optical communication, and 3D volumetric displays.