Silver nanoparticles enhanced 1.53 µm band fluorescence of Er3+/Yb3+ codoped tellurite glasses

Abstract

The silver nanoparticles (NPs) was introduced into the Er3+/Yb3+ codoped tellurite glasses with composition of TeO2–ZnO to improve the 1.53µm band fluorescence of Er3+ and the thermal stability of glass host. The UV–Vis–NIR absorption spectra, 1.53µm band fluorescence spectra and fluorescence decaying curves, the differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) curves, X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images of glass samples were characterized to investigate the effect of silver NPs on the fluorescence properties of Er3+, thermal stability and structure behavior of glass host. It is shown that the Er3+/Yb3+ codoped tellurite glass emits intense 1.53µm band fluorescence with peak wavelength located at about 1532nm under the 980nm excitation. The introduction of silver NPs further improves the fluorescence intensity of Er3+ which is attributed to the enhanced local electric field effect induced by localized surface Plasmon resonance (LSPR) of silver NPs and the possible energy transfer from silver NPs to Er3+. An improvement by about 62% of 1.53µm band fluorescence intensity was found in the studied Er3+/Yb3+ codoped tellurite glass containing 0.5mol% amount of AgNO3. In addition, the thermal stability of glass host increases with the introduction of silver NPs while the glass structure maintains the amorphous nature. The present results indicate that the prepared Er3+/Yb3+ codoped tellurite glass with an appropriate amount of silver NPs has good prospect as a gain medium applied for 1.53µm band broad and high-gain erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs).