Spectroscopic properties and energy transfer process in Tm3+-doped Silica-germanate glasses

A Tm3+-doped silica-germanate was successfully prepared by high-temperature melting method in this work and compared with traditional silicate and germanate glasses comprehensively. The DSC results indicated a better ability against thermal damage (higher T-g =636 degrees C) compared with silicate glass together with better thermal stability (Delta T = 106 degrees C and S=3.17) than germanate (Delta T = 99 degrees C and S=2.64) glass. Intense 1.8 mu m emission in the silica-germanate glass was also obtained when pumping by an 808 nm laser diode, which possessed larger peak absorption and emission cross section (3.15x 10(-21) cm(2) and 7.08 x 10(-21) cm(2)). Finally, the structure analysis suggested a low phonon energy and high rare earth ions solubility in silica-germanate glass through Raman spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. All results indicate that the prepared silica-germanate glass is a promising candidate for 2 pm laser applications. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.