Broadband near-infrared luminescence in erbium ion single-doped tellurite glass for optical amplification.

Abstract

This Letter proposes a simple approach for the realization of a broadband near-infrared (NIR) luminescence source in erbium ion single-doped tellurite glass, which is bent on tailoring the network structure. Under the collective action of multiple broadening mechanisms and fluorescence capture, broadband fluorescence with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 132 nm (1500-1632 nm) was achieved. To the best of our knowledge, this is the largest FWHM reported for erbium single-doping of tellurite glass materials. Meanwhile, this fiberglass exhibits excellent thermal stability and high visible to NIR transmittance. Furthermore, a novel equivalent five-level Stark splitting model is proposed that can effectively explain the spectrum broadening. This study is beneficial for the further development of broadband optical amplification.