Broadband near-infrared emission from Tm3+/Er3+ co-doped nanostructured glass ceramics

Transparent SiO2-Al2O3-NaF-YF3 glass ceramics co-doped with Er3+ and Tm3+ were prepared by melt quenching and subsequent heating. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy experiments revealed that beta-YF3 nanocrystals incorporated with Er3+ and Tm3+ were precipitated homogeneously among the oxide glass matrix. An integrated broad near-infrared emission band in the wavelength region of 1300-1700 nm, consisting of Tm3+ emissions around 1472 nm (H-3(4)-> F-3(4)) and 1626 nm (F-3(4)-> H-3(6)), and Er3+ emission around 1543 nm (I-4(13/2)-> I-4(15/2)), was obtained under 792 nm laser excitation. The full width at half maximum of this integrated band increased with the increasing of [Tm]/[Er] ratio, and it reached as large as 175 nm for the 0.1 mol% Er3+ and 0.8 mol% Tm3+ co-doped sample. The energy transfers between Er3+ and Tm3+ were proposed to play an important role in tailoring the emission bandwidth of the sample. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.