Experimental and theoretical studies on NIR luminescence of titanate‐germanate glasses doped with Pr³⁺ and Tm³⁺ ions

Abstract

Near‐infrared luminescence of Pr3+ and Tm3+ ions in titanate‐geramanate glasses have been studied for laser and fiber amplifier applications. The effect of the molar ratio GeO2:TiO2 (from 5:1 to 1:5) on spectroscopic properties of glass systems was studied by absorption, luminescence measurements, and theoretical calculations using the Judd‐Ofelt theory. It was found that independently of the TiO2 concentration, intense near‐infrared emissions at 1.5 μm and 1.8 μm were observed for glasses doped with Pr3+ and Tm3+ ions, respectively. Moreover, several spectroscopic and near‐infrared (NIR) laser parameters for Pr3+ and Tm3+ ions, such as emission bandwidth, stimulated emission cross‐section, quantum efficiency, gain bandwidth, and figure of merit, were determined. The results were discussed in detail and compared to the different laser glasses. Systematic investigations indicate that Pr3+‐doped system with GeO2:TiO2 = 2:1 and Tm3+‐doped glass with GeO2:TiO2 = 1:2 present profit laser parameters and could be successfully applied to near‐infrared laser and broadband optical amplifiers.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved