Abstract:Bismuth-Gallium co-doped silica glass fiber preform was prepared from nano-porous silica xerogels using a conventional solution doping technique with a heterotrinuclear complex and subsequent sintering. Ga-connected optical Bismuth active center (BAC) was identified as the analogue of Al-connected BAC. Visible and infrared photoluminescence (PL) were investigated in a wide temperature range of 1.46 -300 K. Based on the results of the continuous wave (CW) and time resolved (TR) spectroscopy we identify the centers emitting in the spectral region of 480 -820 nm as Bi + ions. The near infrared (NIR) PL around 1100 nm consists of two bands. While the first one can be ascribed to the transition in Bi + ion, the second band is presumably associated to defects. We put in evidence the energy transfer (ET) between Bi + ions and the second NIR emitting center via quadrupole-quadrupole and dipole-quadrupole mechanisms of interactions. Finally, we propose the energy level diagram of Bi + ion interacting with this defect. Electron. 44, 834-840 (2008). 14. L. Bulatov, V. Mashinsky, V. Dvoyrin, E. Kustov, and E. Dianov, "Luminescent properties of bismuth centres in aluminosilicate optical fibers," Quantum Electron. 40, 153-159 (2010).