Spectroscopic properties of Er3+-doped Na2O-Sb2O3-B2O3-SiO2 glasses

Spectroscopic properties of Er3+-doped Na2O-Sb2O3-B2O3-SiO2 glasses have been investigated for developing 1.5-mu m broadband fiber amplifiers. An intense 1.5-mu m near infrared emission with a broad full width at half maximum(FWHM) of 88 nm has been obtained for Er3+-doped 5Na(2)O-20Sb(2)O(3)-35B(2)O(3)-40SiO(2) glass upon excitation with a 980 nm laser diode. The obtained emission cross-section of the I-4(13/2) -> I-4(15/2) transition and the lifetime of the I-4(13/2) level of Er3+ ions are 6.8 x 10(-21) cm(2) and 0.36 ms, respectively. It is noted that the product of the emission cross-section and the FWHM of the glass, sigma(e) x FWHM, is as great as 598.4 x 10(-21) cm(2) nm, which is comparable or higher than that of Er3+-doped bismuth-based and tellurite-based glasses. These special optical properties encourage in identifying them as important materials for potential applications in high performance optics and optical communication networks. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.