Silver nanoparticles enhanced multichannel transition luminescence of Pr³⁺ in heavy metal germanium tellurite glasses

Enhanced luminescence of Pr³⁺ was observed in heavy metal germanium tellurite (NZPGT) glasses containing silver nanoparticles. Long-time annealing at 300 °C yield spherical and well-dispersed Ag nanoparticles with ∼4 nm diameter as evidenced by transmission electron microscope (TEM). Multichannel transition luminescence intensity of Pr³⁺ in Ag nanoparticles embedded glasses grows by ∼36% in comparison with the glasses without silver doping, which provides a new approach to improve energy conversion efficiency of GaAsAl solar cells. Hypersensitive probe Eu³⁺ reveals that electric field around rare-earth ions is remarkably enhanced due to the presence of Ag nanoparticles in the glass matrix, resulting in the luminescence intensification of Pr³⁺ in NZPGT glasses embedded with Ag nanoparticles.