Conclusion
Optical absorption of undoped binary bismuth silicate glass reveals strong and extended UV-near visible absorption bands which are attributed to the presence of unavoidable trace iron (Fe3+) ions as impurities within the raw materials beside the absorption of main constituent bismuth (Bi3+) ions present in high content (Bi2O3 70 mol%).
Such strong and extended UV-near visible suppress any formation of UV absorption due to the presence of 3d transition metal ions-doped (0.2%) within the studied bismuth silicate host glass.
The visible absorption due to each respective TM ion appears in its characteristic bands. The presence of high content
of Bi2O3 is observed to cause shielding towards gamma irradiation as presented by the general constancy of the optical spectra.
Infrared absorption spectra of undoped and 3d TM ions-doped bismuth silicate glasses exhibit characteristic vibrational modes due to both silicate and Bi-O present as BiO6 and/or BiO3 units.
Gamma irradiation is observed to have no effect on the IR vibrational modes due to the stability of the glass network.