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Structural, optical and luminescence properties of Fe3+-doped mixed alkali zirconia-borate glasses for warm orange-red photonic applications
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  • Published: 26 March 2026

Structural, optical and luminescence properties of Fe3+-doped mixed alkali zirconia-borate glasses for warm orange-red photonic applications

  • D. Vinay1,
  • C. Devaraja1,
  • Utpal Deka2 &
  • …
  • R. S. Gedam3 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

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We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

Subjects

  • Materials science
  • Optics and photonics
  • Physics

Abstract

A novel series of Fe3+ doped mixed alkali zirconia-borate glasses with the composition 60B2O3–25Na2O–10Li2O–(5 − x)ZrO2–xFe2O3 (x = 0–1 mol%) were synthesized using the melt-quenching technique. The novelty of this work lies in combining the structural modifications with enhanced optical properties and orange-red luminescence in Fe3+ doped mixed alkali zirconia-borate glasses for warm photonic applications. X-ray diffraction confirmed the non-crystalline nature of glass, while SEM images and EDS spectra were utilised for morphological and elemental analysis. The density of the glasses decreased from 2.4197 to 2.4168 g cm−3 before gradually increasing to 2.4324 g cm−3. FTIR and Raman spectral studies showed the formation of non-bridging orthoborate units from pentaborate and di-pentaborate units. The optical absorption band at 450 nm is associated with the Fe3+ transition 6A1g (6S) → 4A1g (4G); 4Eg (4G). The decrease in direct bandgap from 3.90 to 3.10 eV and indirect bandgap from 3.44 to 2.77 eV, along with an increase in Urbach energy from 0.245 to 0.273 eV, indicates the disorder in structure. An increase in refractive index leads to an increase in third-order susceptibility and nonlinear refractive index. The photoluminescence spectra exhibited orange-red emission at (4T2g(4G) → 6A1g(6S)) with 550 nm, 560 nm and 570 nm excitation wavelengths. The CIE chromaticity and CCT values show that Fe3+ doped glasses are suitable for warm-emitting orange-red photonic applications.

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Data availability

The data used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank and acknowledge Manipal Institute of Technology Bengaluru, and Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, for their great encouragement and support towards research. The authors express thanks to the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), Bengaluru, for providing Raman Spectroscopy characterizations and Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bengaluru, for their support with Powder XRD measurements.

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Open access funding provided by Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Manipal Institute of Technology Bengaluru, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka, 576104, India

    D. Vinay & C. Devaraja

  2. Department of Physics, Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, Sikkim Manipal University, Majitar, East Sikkim, 737136, India

    Utpal Deka

  3. Department of Physics, Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur, Maharashtra, 440010, India

    R. S. Gedam

Authors
  1. D. Vinay
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  2. C. Devaraja
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  3. Utpal Deka
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Contributions

Vinay D: Conceptualisation, data curation, investigation, formal analysis, writing—original draft. C Devaraja: Conceptualization, data curation, methodology, writing—review and editing, validation, supervision. Utpal Deka: Writing—review and editing, validation, supervision. R.S. Gedam: Validation, methodology, data curation.

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Correspondence to C. Devaraja or Utpal Deka.

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Vinay, D., Devaraja, C., Deka, U. et al. Structural, optical and luminescence properties of Fe3+-doped mixed alkali zirconia-borate glasses for warm orange-red photonic applications. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-45270-1

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  • Received: 21 February 2026

  • Accepted: 17 March 2026

  • Published: 26 March 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-45270-1

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Keywords

  • Fe3+-doped borate glasses
  • Melt-quenching technique
  • Optical bandgap and Urbach energy
  • Nonlinear optical properties
  • Orange-red photoluminescence
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