Er3+ ion photoluminescence in silicate glasses obtained by plasma-chemical deposition in a low-pressure microwave discharge

The luminescent properties of Er3+ ions embedded in silicate glass matrices with F, N, K, Al, P, Ge, P + Al, P + K, and Ge + Al admixtures are studied. Glass samples with an erbium concentration of up to 9 × 1020 cm−3 are synthesized by plasma-assisted CVD. The spectra, kinetics, and relative quantum efficiency of Er3+ photoluminescence are estimated by exciting the samples with 514.5-nm Ar+ laser radiation. It is shown that the luminescent properties of the activator in such high-erbium unfused glasses are superior to those of the same activator in fused glasses of the same composition. This effect is attributed to suppression of clustering in the glasses prepared by low-temperature CVD, which arises because of a limited mutual solubility of the oxides in the melt. The efficient composites with an erbium concentration of up to 4 × 1020 cm−3 obtained in this work can be used as an active medium of waveguide lasers and amplifiers.