Optical Properties of Er3+-doped Li2O-SrO-ZnO-Bi2O3 Glasses

Abstract

Abstract. Er 3+-doped Li 2 O-SrO-ZnO-Bi 2 O 3 (LSZB) glasses that are suitable for optical amplifier applications have been fabricated through the conventional melt-quenching method, and the spectroscopic properties of Er 3+ in the glasses were characterized. The density, the refractive indices, the optical absorption, the Judd-Ofelt parameters  t , and the spontaneous transition probabilities of the glasses were measured and calculated. The Raman spectrum shows three strong peaks at 255, 382, and 491cm -1 . The emission peak from the Er 3+ : 4 I 13/2 → 4 I 15/2 transition locates around 1.53-µm with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of ~78 nm. The theory lifetime of the 4 I 13/2 level is ~2.85ms. The emission cross section is estimated to be ~9.76×10 -21 cm 2 , which is larger than those of silicate glasses. In sum, the above results indicate that the LS ZB glass is a promising host material for applications in optical amplifiers.