Effect of Gd2O3 on luminescence properties of RE ions in germanium-tellurite glasses

The system of Ho3+/Yb3+ co-doped Ge-Te-Ga-Gd glasses has been successfully prepared by traditional melting method. The thermal stability, Raman spectroscopy and mid-infrared luminescence were studied and analyzed systematically. The effectively enhanced thermal stability of the sample was obtained with the increasing introduced Gd2O3, which was confirmed by the positive Delta T values. The improved robustness and structural stability of the glass network were analyzed through Raman spectroscopy. Enhanced 2-3 mu m emissions have been obtained by certain content Gd2O3 with an optimal choice of 15 mol% additive amount under 980 nm pumping. Furthermore, luminous parameters including J-O values, absorption, emission and gain cross sections have been presented together with energy transfer mechanism. Hence, this paper presents a new choice of Ho3+/Yb3+ co-doped Ge-Te-Ga-Gd glass as potential mid-infrared laser materials.