Gain properties and concentration quenching of Er3+-doped niobium oxyfluorosilicate glasses for photonic applications

Structural and spectral properties of erbium-doped niobium oxyfluorosilicate glasses were characterized by the differential thermal analysis, Raman, infrared, photoluminescence and lifetime measurements. With the increase of Er3+ ions concentration, the lifetime of I-4(13/2) level has been decreased due to the concentration quenching effect. The McCumber.'s theory was adopted to predict the emission cross-section (sigma(M)(emi)) of I-4(13/2) -> I-4(15/2) transition from the absorption cross-section (sigma-abs) of I-4(15/2) -> I-4(13/2) transition of Er3+ ions. The gain parameters such as optical gain, gain bandwidth and gain coefficient for amplification were evaluated for the I-4(13/2) -> I-4(15/2) emission transition (1.54 tm). The Er3+-doped niobium oxyfluorosilicate glass covers both C (1530-1565 nm) and the L (1565-1625 nm) band regions in the optical communication window. From the results of these investigations, it is concluded that the Er3+-doped niobium oxyfluorosilicate glasses are more useful for photonic device applications. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.