A new infrared luminescence from bismuth-doped silica glass is discovered. Spectroscopic properties of this glass are different from those of previously reported Bi2+- or Bi3+-doped glasses or crystals. Its luminescence spectrum is wide (full-width at half maximum; about 200 nm), with the peak at 1140 nm with 500 nm excitation. Absorption bands exist between the visible and near-infrared region. The lifetime of bismuth-doped silica glass is 630 µs at room temperature, which is longer than the lifetimes of Bi3+ luminescence reported previously.

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We demonstrated an amplification phenomenon in a bismuth-doped silica glass at 1.3 μm with 0.8-μm excitation. This luminescent material is a promising candidate for use as the core-fiber material of an optical amplifier at the natural zero-dispersion wavelength (1.3 μm) of silica glass fiber.

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