Er3+ doped germanate-tellurite glass for mid-infrared 2.7 μm fiber laser material

2.7 mu m fluorescence has been achieved in the different concentration Er3+ doped germanate-tellurite glasses. The germanate-tellurite glass shows a good thermal stability and Fourier transform infrared spectra indicates that the mid-infrared transmission spectra performance is good. Based on the measured absorption spectra, the Judd-Ofelt parameters were calculated and discussed. Moreover, the emission spectra of Er3+ doped glasses show that the emission intensity at similar to 2.7 mu m reaches a maximal value and no obvious concentration quenching phenomenon happens even if the ErF3-doping concentration is 1.5 mol%. In addition, the 2.7 mu m radiative transition probability and emission cross section is 35.57 s(-1) and 13.87 x 10(-21) cm(2) corresponding to the Er3+:I-4(11/2)-> I-4(13/2) transition and superior gain performance was also obtained from the prepared glass. Meanwhile, energy transfer mechanism has been investigated in detail. Hence, the spectroscopic characteristics as well as the good thermal property indicate that this kind of glass is an attractive host for developing mid-infrared fiber laser. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.