Influence of ZnTe nanocrystals in the laser performance parameters of Yb³⁺ doped phosphate glasses

This work reports an optical investigation of a phosphate glass (PZABP) doped with ZnTe semiconductors nanocrystals and co-doped with Yb₂O₃. ZnTe nanocrystals growing were evidenced by optical absorption spectra and their average radius were estimated via effective mass approach. The emission cross section, absorption cross section and lifetime measurements were performed via Optical Absorption, Photoluminescence and Time-Resolved Photoluminescence techniques. Important performance parameters for solid-state lasers, like the minimum fraction of ions that must be excited (β_min), the pump saturation intensity (I_sat) and the minimum intensity of the pumping laser (I_min) were obtained and the product σ_emi × t_exp was defined as a figure of merit to analyses the efficiency of the system. The influence of the ZnTe nanocrystals in the laser performance parameters was studied. The results point the alterations caused by the presence of the nanostructures may be compensated by the intensity gain on the media active and indicates the PZABP glasses as a promising material to applications in high power lasers.