Mechanisms of energy transfer in soda-lime and phosphate glasses co-activated with silver and erbium

In this work we report on the photoluminescence properties of silicate and phosphate glasses co-activated with silver and erbium ions. Absorption and photoluminescence spectra allowed to distinguish in the glasses several active species related to the silver, whose ratio depends on heat treatment and concentration. The broad emission of silver related species in the visible region of the spectrum has been studied in correlation with the non-resonant excitation of the erbium ions. The comparison of the excitation spectra of silver and erbium shows that the erbium ions are excited through radiative and non-radiative energy transfer from small silver clusters.