Spectroscopic properties of Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped Bi2O3-B2O3-GeO2 glasses

Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped 60Bi(2)O(3)-(40-x)B2O3-xGeO(2) (BBG; x= 0, 5, 10, 15 mol%) glasses that are suitable for fiber lasers, amplifiers have been fabricated and characterized. The absorption spectra, emission spectra, and lifetime of the I-4(13/2) level and quantum efficiency of Er3+ : I-4(13/2)-> I-4(15/2) transition were measured and calculated. With the substitution of GeO2 for B2O3, both Delta lambda(eff) and sigma(e) decrease from 75 to 71 nm and 9.88 to 8.12 x 10(-21) cm(2), respectively. The measured lifetime of the I-4(13/2) level and quantum efficiency of Er3+ : I-4(13/2)-> I-4(15/2) transition increase from 1.18 to 1.5 ms and 36.2% to 43.2%, respectively. The emission spectra of Er3+ : I-4(13/2) -> (4)I1(15/2) transition was also analyzed using a peak-fit routine, and an equivalent four-level system was proposed to estimate the stark splitting for the I-4(15/2) and I-4(13/2) levels of Er3+ in the BBG glasses. The results indicate that the I-4(13/2) -> I-4(15/2) emission of Er3+ can be exhibit a considerable broadening due to a significant enhance the peak A, and D emission. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.