Fabrication and spectroscopic broadening properties for 1.5 μm amplification of Er3+-doped BaF2 nanoparticles

We show the potential application of Er3+-doped BaF2 nanoparticles prepared from microemulsion technology for 1.5 mu m amplification in telecommunication. Nanoparticles with different sizes of about 8, 10, and 20.5 nm were prepared. The XRD patterns showed the excursion of diffraction peaks. When the particle size is smaller or the diffraction angle is larger, this kind of excursion will be more serious. The emission bands of Er3+ at 1.54 mu m for the three particle sizes at were as follows: 8 nm particles - 145 nm, 10 nm particles - 124 nm, and 20.5 nm particles - 82 nm (full width at half maximum, FWHM), or 173, 153, 97 nm (Delta lambda(eff)), respectively. In all the three cases, the emission spectra were flat from 1.53 to 1.56 mu m.