Applied Physics B (2019) 125:117

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-019-7233-9

Spectroscopic and waveguide properties of ­Nd3+‑doped

oxyfluorosilicate glasses
Ramachari Doddoji1,2 · G. V. Vázquez3 · R. Trejo‑Luna4 · Devarajulu Gelija5

Received: 22 February 2019 / Accepted: 27 May 2019 / Published online: 6 June 2019
© Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019

Abstract
In this work, we present the fabrication of ­Nd3+-doped oxyfluorosilicate glasses with good spectroscopic properties and
waveguiding characteristics. The amorphous nature and elemental mapping of the chemical composition for the studied
glasses were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), respectively.
Absorption, photoluminescence, and decay measurements have also been investigated. The Judd–Ofelt intensity parameters
have been evaluated from the absorption spectrum to predict the radiative properties for the emission levels ­Nd3+ ions.
The near-infrared (NIR) emission spectra recorded with 808 nm laser diode excitation show the highest emission intensity
for the 4F3/2 → 4I11/2 transition at 1.058 μm. In addition, planar waveguides were generated by either proton or carbon ion
implantation in glasses with 1.0 and 1.5 mol% N ­ d3+ concentration, showing good optical confinement from the waveguide
mode distribution and transmission properties. The obtained results show that these glasses have potential features for the
development of integrated devices, particularly the fabrication of lasers and amplifiers in a compact configuration.

1 Introduction ­(Nd3+)-doped glass materials are suitable for the develop-

ment of tunable and high-power lasers due to the wide gain
Research on special glasses based on rare-earth oxides bandwidth [5, 6]. Compared to the other R ­ E3+ [7–9], the
­( RE3+) with exceptional spectroscopic properties is of 4 4 3+
F3/2 →  I13/2 transition of ­Nd ion could be used to obtain
great importance for the development of amplifiers and efficient 1.3 μm emission even in the glass systems with
­ E3+, the neodymium
lasers [1–4]. In view of the facts on R medium–high phonon energy owing to the wide energy gap
(5500 cm−1) to the next lower level.
Among the wide glass family, silicate glass has attracted
* G. V. Vázquez
gvvazquez@cio.mx considerable interest due to its high transparency in the vis-
ible and near-infrared, high chemical stability, few defects,
Ramachari Doddoji
ramachari@tdtu.edu.vn low density, and low processing cost [10]. Thus, these
glasses are extensively used in commercial optics including
R. Trejo‑Luna
rebeca@fisica.unam.mx integrated applications [11]. The addition of ­Al2O3 modifier
in silicate glass increases the thermo-mechanical strength
Devarajulu Gelija
deva777phy@gmail.com with chemical durability [12]. Moreover, the fluorides such
as ­CaF2 and S ­ rF2 incorporated into silicate glass are good
1
Ceramics and Biomaterials Research Group, Advanced optical materials with high solubility of ­RE3+ ions and the
Institute of Materials Science, Ton Duc Thang University, phonon energy is minimized with corresponding high-effi-
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
ciency luminescence. Therefore, N ­ d3+-doped oxyfluoride
2
Faculty of Applied Sciences, Ton Duc Thang University, glasses combine the merits of low-phonon energy envi-
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
ronment of fluoride and desirable mechanical and chemi-
3
Centro de Investigaciones en Óptica, Loma del Bosque 115, cal properties of oxide glasses, making them attractive for
Lomas del Campestre, 37150 León, Guanajuato, Mexico
broadband optical amplifiers and lasers [12–14]. All the
4
Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de aforementioned benefits offered by various chemical com-
México, Apartado Postal 20364, 01000 Mexico City, Mexico
ponents such as ­SiO2, ­Al2O3, and fluorides prompted us to
5
Department of Physics, National Chung Cheng University, prepare a stable glass system (i.e., oxyfluorosilicate glass)
Ming-Hsiung, Chia‑Yi 621, Taiwan

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to use for the formation of waveguides, which are essential
in integrated optics technology.
Optical waveguides play an important role for signal
propagation and the interconnections between different inte-
grated optical devices. Thus, the fabrication of waveguides
has become more and more attractive in modern photonics
systems. Among the fabrication techniques of optical wave-
guides, ion implantation has been widely used because of
its great control in waveguide parameters such as thickness
and refractive index change [15–21]. Waveguide formation
using this technique is generally based on a reduction in the
physical density, and hence refractive index, at the end of the
ion trajectory by radiation damage. Therefore, the waveguide
is confined between this low index layer—so-called “optical
barrier”—and a low index material, which is usually the air
on the surface.
The purpose of this work is to synthesize oxyfluorosili-
cate glasses doped with different concentrations of N ­ d3+
ions and characterize their spectroscopic properties through
absorption, luminescence, and lifetime measurements. In
addition, SEM and EDS measurements were carried out
for the compositional analysis of the glass host. In addition,
we have investigated the formation of planar optical wave-
guides by either proton or carbon ion implantation. The
waveguide characterization comprises optical microscopy,
near-field imaging, refractive index profiles, and propaga-
tion losses.
2 Materials and methods
Nd 3+-doped oxyfluorosilicate glasses (NSASCF) with
chemical composition (mol%) of (48 − x) ­S iO 2 –10
­Al2O3–20 ­SrF2–22 ­CaF2–x ­Nd2O3 (where x = 0.1, 0.5, 1.0,
and 1.5 mol% and are referred as NSASCF01, NSASCF05,
NSASCF10, and NSASCF15, respectively) were prepared
by the conventional melt quenching technique. About 20 g
of batch composition was thoroughly crushed in an agate
mortar and this homogeneous mixture was taken into a plati-
num crucible and heated in an electric furnace at 1400 °C for
90 min. The melt was poured onto a preheated brass mold
and annealed at 350 °C for 10 h to remove thermal strains.
The glass samples are slowly cooled down to room tempera-
ture and polished for optical measurements.
Refractive index (n = 1.585) measurements were real-
ized using an Abbe’s refractometer at sodium vapour lamp
wavelength (589.3 nm) for 1 mol% NSASCF10, which is
measured for Judd–Ofelt intensity parameters. The absorp-
tion spectrum was measured using a spectrophotometer
(Perkin Elmer Lambda-950) in the range of 300–1000 nm
with 1 nm resolution. The photoluminescence spectra and
decay curves were recorded by exciting the glass sam-
ples with an 808 nm laser diode. The emitted signal was
13
R. Doddoji et al.
Table 1  Implantation parameters used to fabricate the optical wave-
guides
Sample Ion Energy Dose Inci-
(MeV) (ions/cm2) dence
angle
(°)
1 C2+ 5 8 × 1014 8
2 H+ 1 3 × 1016 60
focused onto a PC-controlled SP-2300i spectrograph (Acton
Research) and detected by an InGaAs detector (Thorlabs
DET10C). The fluorescence lifetime was measured using a
pulsed 808 nm laser diode. Scanning electron microscope
(SEM) and energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) maps
were recorded using a JEOL scanning electron microscope
Model JSM-IT500.
Planar optical waveguides were fabricated on NSASCF10
(sample 1) and NSASCF15 (sample 2) glasses by ion
implantation using an NEC 9SDH-2 Pelletron accelerator
(UNAM). The implantation was simulated using the Stop-
ping and Range of Ions in Matter (SRIM) program [22].
Implantation parameters were selected to obtain waveguides
with a width of a few microns (see Table 1). Images of the
implanted zone were taken by optical microscopy from
which the damage depth was measured.
Propagation modes were obtained by the dark mode
method using a Metricon prism coupler 2010 at a wave-
length of 633 nm [15]. From the propagation modes and
the damage depth, refractive index profiles were calculated
using a multilayer approach [23]. This method takes into
account both the confined modes as well as the radiation
modes; as the light travels from the prism to the substrate, it
can behave as a sinusoidal wave (propagation mode) or as an
evanescent wave (radiation mode), depending on the region,
where it is passing.
Intensity mode distribution and propagation losses were
measured using the end-fire coupling technique [15], where
light from an He–Ne laser operating at 633 nm was coupled
to the waveguides through a 10× microscope lens, and the
light was coupled out through a 20× microscope lens and
directed to either a charged coupled device (CCD) camera to
acquire the near-field image, or a power detector to measure
the light intensity from the waveguide.
3 Results and discussion
3.1 SEM and EDS analyses
Figure 1 shows the SEM (inset) and EDS results of the
NSASCF glasses with different concentrations of N ­ d 3+
ions. It is very clear that no nucleation parts or crystal
Spectroscopic and waveguide properties of ­Nd3+‑doped oxyfluorosilicate glasses Page 3 of 9  117

­ d3+ ions
Fig. 1  SEM images and EDS spectra of NSASCF glass for different concentrations of N

growth were observed in the SEM images even at the

magnification of 1 μm, revealing the formation of glasses
with high homogeneity and the absence of cracks and
unmelted portions. In addition, from these images, it is
concluded that present glasses are amorphous in nature,
because no grains can be observed. In addition, EDS ele-
mental mapping of the NSASCF glasses clearly depicts
the incorporation of different concentrations of ­Nd3+ ions
together with the presence of Si, Al, Sr, Ca, O, and F
elements. The compositional analysis in wt% of each ele-
ment of the glass host is also presented in Fig. 1. Even
in low concentration, the N­ d3+ element was detected and
the spectral data reflect values of 2.87%, 2.88%, 3.56%,
and 5.27% of ­Nd3+ that is present in the glass NSASCF01,
NSASCF05, NSASCF10, and NSASCF15, respectively.
Therefore, EDS analysis confirms the incorporation of the
­Nd3+ ions in the NSASCF glass host. Fig. 2  UV–Vis–NIR absorption spectrum of the NSASCF10 glass

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3.2 Optical absorption spectrum and Judd–Ofelt Table 2  Experimental (fexp) and calculated (fcal) oscillator strengths
parameters ­(10−6) for the 1 mol% NSASCF10 glass
Transition Wave number NSASCF10
4
The optical absorption spectrum recorded for NSASCF10 I9/2→ (cm−1)
fexp fcal
glass in the wavelength range of 300–1000  nm and the
4
assignments of absorption bands are shown in Fig. 2, as F3/2 11,376 4.65 5.18
­ d3+-doped glasses [24, 25].
illustrated in earlier studies on N 4
F5/2 + 2H9/2 12,422 14.26 13.50
4
The absorption spectrum displayed 11 inhomogeneously F7/2 + 4S3/2 13,368 16.60 17.04
broadened absorption bands due to the ­4f3 − 4f3 electronic
4
F9/2 14,641 1.02 1.30
­ d3+ ions. Among all the absorption bands,
2
transitions of N H11/2 16,000 0.48 0.36
4
the band at 805 nm is the most used for the optical pumping G5/2 + 2G−7/2 17,123 33.70 33.69
4
of ­Nd3+-based lasers, either by flash lamps or by semicon- G7/2 19,047 7.12 7.26
4
ductor GaAs laser diodes [26]. G9/2 19,493 1.95 1.18
2
For NSASCF10 glass, the experimental oscillator strength G9/2 + 2D−3/2 21,097 2.10 2.15
2
(fexp) of absorption bands is determined as [24, 25] K15/2 21,645 1.02 0.33
2
P1/2 + 2D5/2 23,201 1.01 1.30
4
fexp = 4.318 × 10−9 ∫ 𝛼(𝜐) d𝜐, (1) D3/2 + 4D1/2 28,143 9.80 10.35
δrms ± 0.46
where α(υ) is the molar absorptivity of a band at wavenum-
ber (υ) in c­ m−1. According to the Judd–Ofelt (JO) theory
[27, 28], the calculated oscillator strengths (fcal) for the Table 3  Judd–Ofelt intensity parameters (Ωλ × 10−20  cm2), and their
­ d3+:doped glass systems
trend in different N
absorption band corresponding to the electronic transition
from an initial state ψJ to a final state ψ′J′ can be estimated Glass Ω2 Ω4 Ω6 Trend
by the following equation:
NSASCF10 (present glass) 5.93 9.86 11.83 Ω6 > Ω4 > Ω2
( ) 8𝜋 2 mc𝜈 (n2 + 2)2 ∑ ‖ ‖ Nd3+:SFB [29] 8.06 4.83 11.37 Ω6 > Ω2 > Ω4
fcal 𝛹 J → 𝛹 � J � = 𝛺𝜆 (𝛹 J ‖U 𝜆 ‖𝛹 � J � )2 ,
3h(2J + 1) 9n 𝜆=2,4,6
‖ ‖ LG-750 [30] 4.60 4.80 5.60 Ω6 > Ω4 > Ω2
(2) ED-2 [31] 3.30 4.68 5.18 Ω6 > Ω4 > Ω2
where m is the mass of the electron, c is the velocity of Phosphate [32] 3.28 3.54 4.67 Ω6 > Ω4 > Ω2
light in vacuum, h is the Planck’s constant, n is refractive Fluoroborate glass [33] 4.63 2.55 6.79 Ω6 > Ω2 > Ω4
index, (n2 + 2)2/9n is the Lorentz local field correction for the Silicate [34] 4.71 4.54 5.05 Ω6 > Ω4 > Ω2
absorption band, Ωλ (λ = 2, 4, 6) are the host-dependent JO
intensity parameters, and ||Uλ|| are the doubly reduced matrix
elements of the unit tensor operator of rank λ evaluated in ­ d3+-doped glasses
is larger than those of earlier studies on N
the intermediate coupling approximation for a particular [29–34]. This indicates the higher rigidity of NSASCF10
transition and are considered to be independent on the host. glass.
The experimentally measured oscillator strengths (fexp) along
with the calculated oscillator strengths (fcal) are presented
in Table 2. The small root-mean-square deviation (δrms) of 3.3 Near‑infrared (NIR) emission and radiative
0.46 × 10−6 indicates that the deriving process between the properties
fexp and fcal oscillator strengths is reliable.
The evaluated JO intensity parameters (Ω2, 4, 6), and their Figure 3 shows the NIR emission spectra for different con-
trend in the NSASCF10 glass are compared along with some centrations of N­ d3+ in NSASCF glasses. The spectra exhibit
other reported N ­ d3+:SFB [29], LG-750 [30], ED-2 [31], one intense emission band centered at 1058 nm which cor-
phosphate [32], fluoroborate [33], and silicate [34] glasses, responds to the 4F3/2 → 4I11/2 transition and two more emis-
as shown in Table 3. The trend of the intensity parameters sion bands centered at 897 nm (4F3/2 → 4I9/2) and 1332 nm
in the present NSASCF10 glass has been found to be in (4F3/2 → 4I13/2), respectively. The radiative properties such
the order Ω6 > Ω4 > Ω2. In general, the magnitude of Ω2 as effective bandwidth (Δλeff), radiative transition probabil-
parameter depends on the site symmetry and the covalent ity (AR), experimental (βexp), and calculated (βcal) branch-
nature between rare-earth ions and ligand anions, whereas ing ratios and stimulated emission cross section (σemi) esti-
the values of Ω4 and Ω6 are related to the rigidity of the mated from the emission spectrum of NSASCF10 glass for
host medium in which the ions are situated [24, 25]. For the the 4F3/2 → 4I9/2,11/2,13/2 transitions are presented in Table 4.
present NSASCF10 glass, the Ω6 value (11.83 × 10−20 ­cm2) From the emission spectrum, the stimulated emission cross

13
Spectroscopic and waveguide properties of ­Nd3+‑doped oxyfluorosilicate glasses Page 5 of 9  117

(1.63 × 10−25  cm3), SPbKNLFNd10 (1.49 × 10−25  cm3),

TZN10 (1.32 × 10−25 cm3), and LTTNd (1.94 × 10−25 cm3)
glasses [24, 36–38].

3.4 Decay time measurements

Figure 4 shows the decay profiles of 4F3/2 level by monitoring

Fig. 3  NIR-emission spectra for different ­Nd3+ ion concentrations of
NSASCF glasses
the emission at 1.058 μm for the different concentrations of
­Nd3+ in NSASCF glasses. For 0.1 mol% of ­Nd3+ ions concen-
tration, the decay curve exhibits single exponential nature and
turns into non-exponential at higher N ­ d3+ ion concentrations
(≥ 0.5 mol %). The lifetimes of the.
4
F3/2 level has been determined by finding the first e-folding
and average lifetime (τavg) for the single and non-exponential
decay curves, respectively [39]. The average lifetime has been
determined using the following formula:
∫ tI(t)dt
𝜏avg = , (4)
∫ I(t)dt

section (σemi) of the 4F3/2 → 4I11/2 transition has been evalu-

ated using the following equation:

𝜆4p (4 )
𝜎emi = AR F3∕2 ⟶4 I11∕2 , (3)
8𝜋cn2 Δ𝜆eff

where Δλeff is the effective emission bandwidth determined

by dividing the area of the emission band by its average
height.
As shown in Table  4, the highest branching ratio (βR)
value is an attractive feature for lower threshold and higher
gain of lasers [35, 36]. The large radiative transition prob-
ability (7014 s−1) is related to a high refractive index glass,
which results in a short radiative lifetime (τrad) of 143 µs.
From the stimulated emission cross-section (6.58 × 10−20 cm2)
and gain bandwidth parameter (2.30 × 10−25 cm3), it can be
concluded that the 4F3/2 → 4I11/2 transition of NSASCF10
glass is suitable for a broadband optical amplification,
since it exhibits a relatively larger value of gain bandwidth
compared to reported glass systems such as NKZLSNd Fig. 4  Decay curves for the 4F3/2 level of different ­Nd3+ concentra-
tions in NSASCF glasses

Table 4  Emission peak positions (λp), effective bandwidths (∆λeff), radiative transition probabilities (AR), stimulated emission cross-section
(σemi), gain bandwidth parameter (σemi × ∆λeff) (× 10−25 cm3), experimental (βexp), and calculated branching ratios (βR) for the NSASCF10 glass
Transition 4F3/2 →  (λp) (∆λeff) (AR) (σemi) (σemi × ∆λeff) (βexp) (βR)
(nm) (nm) (s−1) (× 10−20cm2) (× 10−25 ­cm3)
4
I9/2 896 47 2813 2.00 0.94 0.39
4
I11/2 1058 35 3500 2.30 0.13 0.49
4
I13/2 1332 57 701 6.58 1.16 0.10
AT(s−1) 7014 2.03 0.63
τR (µs) 143 0.23

13
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Page 6 of 9
where I(t) is the emission intensity at time t. The life-
times (τexp) of 4F3/2 level for 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mol% of
NSASCF glasses are found to be 334 μs, 268 μs, 175 μs, and
104 μs, respectively. The lifetime is decreasing with increase
of ­Nd2O3 concentration due to the concentration quenching
through the energy transfer among ­Nd3+ ions [24, 36]. The
observed difference between βexp and βR values (see Table 4)
may be due to experimental error and inaccuracy in the JO
calculations; similar discrepancies have been reported in
previously studied ­Nd3+-doped glasses [24, 36, 40].
For waveguide lasers, excitation of more active ions
­(Nd3+) is required in a small region of the glass matrix;
thus, higher doping concentrations are preferable. There-
fore, we selected NSASCF10 (sample 1) and NSASCF15
(sample 2) glasses for the fabrication of planar waveguides
in the present work.
Fig. 5  Ion range simulated with SRIM for the two glasses
Fig. 6  Microscope images of the implanted zone: a sample 1 and b sample 2
13
R. Doddoji et al.
3.5 SRIM and microscope images
The simulation of the ion range for samples 1 and 2 is shown
in Fig. 5. From SRIM calculations, the carbon ions (sample
1) are stopped at around 4 μm and the ion distribution is
very thin (a width of ~ 0.5 μm at half maximum). For sample
2, where protons were used, the ion range peak is located
at ~ 6.3 μm. Protons penetrate deeper into the substrate, and
as the minimum available energy that could be used was
1 MeV, a 60° angle of incidence of the ion beam was used
to obtain the chosen ion penetration. In addition, the use
of a higher angle than normal incidence generates a wider
ion distribution (the width was ~ 1.5 μm at half maximum).
Images of the implanted zone are depicted in Fig. 6, from
which the measured damage depth for sample 1 is ~ 3 μm
and for sample 2 is ~ 7 μm, which are in agreement with the
SRIM simulations.
3.6 Refractive index profiles
Sample 1 confines one propagation mode, and with help of the
radiation modes, the refractive index profile was approximated
and it is shown in Fig. 7a. This exhibits a refractive index
increase of ~ 0.012% in the guiding region and an optical bar-
rier located at ~ 3 μm with a decrease of ~ 0.1% with respect to
the substrate. Sample 2 propagates two modes, giving a refrac-
tive index profile with a waveguide width of ~ 7 μm, a slight
refractive index increase of ~ 0.006% in the guiding region, and
a barrier peak positioned ~ 0.25% with respect to the substrate
index value (see Fig. 7b). The refractive index increase in the
waveguide region has been reported previously and has been
related to ionization effects and stress produced by nuclear
collisions [41, 42]. Heavy ion implantation (e.g., carbon ions)
generates waveguides of a few microns with a higher energy
than that needed for light ions (e.g., protons). In addition,
low heavy ion fluences (­ 1014 ions/cm2) normally ensure the
Spectroscopic and waveguide properties of ­Nd3+‑doped oxyfluorosilicate glasses Page 7 of 9  117
(a)
Fig. 7  Refractive index profiles for the planar waveguides: a sample 1 and b sample 2
formation of an optical barrier, which confines the light with-
out deleterious effects in the waveguiding and spectroscopic
properties [43–45]. In contrast, higher light ion fluences are
necessary to produce adequate light confinement; these are
generally in the order of ­1016 ions/cm2. According to the pre-
vious reports [15, 16, 43, 44], the spectroscopic properties
are maintained in the waveguide region compared to the bulk
substrate with the ion fluences used in this work; hence, similar
characteristics are expected in the waveguides.
3.7 Waveguide propagation losses and mode
distribution
The propagation losses in the waveguides were calculated
using the transmitted light method [15, 46] in which light is
measured at the input and output of the waveguide, and the
attenuation coefficient α is calculated using the following
expression:
( )
10 P0 cTls Ts2
𝛼= log dB/cm (5)
L P1
where P0 and P1 are the incident and output optical power,
respectively, c is the lens-waveguide coupling coefficient
Fig. 8  Waveguide mode inten-
sity distribution of sample 2
(b)
(which considers mode size mismatch and misalignment),
Tl and Ts are the Fresnel reflection coefficients for lens and
sample, respectively, and L is the guide length in cm. Even
though the method does not determine each type of loss
separately (absorption, scattering, and tunnelling), the setup
is simple and it gives a good approximation of the total prop-
agation losses per unit length.
Figure 8 shows the mode distribution at the waveguide
output of sample 2, where light confinement in the vertical
direction can be observed, defining a planar waveguide.
Propagation losses for sample 1 were calculated in the
range of 1.1–2.8 dB cm−1, and for sample 2 from 4.9 to
7 dB cm−1, measured in different regions along the wave-
guide output. From these values, it can be observed that
transmission properties depend on the implanted ion, that
is, the carbon implanted waveguide shows higher trans-
mission than the proton implanted waveguide [44]. In
addition, losses caused by absorption could be reduced
by applying an annealing treatment, which is commonly
used in ion-implanted waveguides [15, 16].
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Page 8 of 9
4 Conclusions
Nd3+-doped NSASCF glasses were prepared by the melt
quenching technique and investigated through absorption,
near-infrared emission, decay measurements, and wave-
guiding properties. The amorphous nature of the glasses
was confirmed by SEM analysis. EDS elemental mapping
clearly depicts the incorporation of each concentration
of ­Nd3+ ions into the glass host. Judd–Ofelt parameters
show the general trend Ω 6 > Ω4 > Ω2. The effect of con-
centration on the luminescence properties of ­Nd3+ ions
has been discussed. Furthermore, the high stimulated
emission cross-section (6.58 × 10−20 cm2) and large gain
bandwidth (2.3 × 10 −25 cm3) for the 4F3/2 → 4I11/2 transi-
tion at 1058 nm are promising characteristics for amplifier
and laser applications. In addition, the optical waveguides
exhibited good optical confinement and relatively low
propagation losses. The combined properties of the glass
host together with those of the optical waveguides show
potential for the development of compact integrated opti-
cal devices. Further work will be carried out to test laser
emission performance in these glass waveguides.
Acknowledgements  We are grateful to the optical workshop at CIO for
cutting and polishing the samples, as well as to K. López and F. Jaimes
for supervising the implants. We would also like to thank Yogi Vemana
University, Kadapa, for SEM and EDS measurements.
Compliance with ethical standards  29. D. Umamaheswari, B.C. Jamalaiah, T. Sasikala, G.V.L. Reddy,
Conflict of interest  The authors declare that they have no conflict of
interest.
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