Optimization of Pr3+-doped glasses for photonic applications: an overview and challenges in Judd–Ofelt analysis

Characteristics (optical, luminescence, up-conversion, etc.) of triply ionized Praseodymium (Pr³⁺) ions doped glasses, glass-ceramics, phosphors and crystals have been widely studied for the development of photonic devices. Most of these characteristics are mainly based on Judd–Ofelt (JO) theory to interpret transition intensities and in turn to simulate radiative properties of Pr³⁺ ions based optical materials. However, JO analysis provides inconsistent results for Pr³⁺:glasses. Further, besides no review is available focusing on uneven findings of Pr³⁺:glasses. Therefore, a comprehensive data on Pr³⁺:glasses have been collected (490 Pr³⁺:glasses) and compared, besides labeling glass compositions systematically. The properties that are reviewed include, Nephelauxetic effect, optical energy gap, thermal, JO parameters, radiative properties, etc. It has been noticed that the systematic study either in preparation or optimization of characteristic properties are very much missing. Moreover, large number of data sets of literature are presented at one place which is very much useful for predictive modeling approaches. Also, the primary focus of the present review is not to provide a comprehensive summary of all studies conducted so far or to discuss new findings, but rather to highlight the challenges associated with JO parameters for Pr³⁺ ions that influence the development of optical materials, components, and applications.