Optical and physical properties of Er3+-doped oxy-fluoride tellurite glasses

In this manuscript we present the effects of ZnF2 concentration on the optical and physical properties of Er3+-doped oxy-fluoride tellurite glasses (7500 ppm Er2O3-(80-x)TeO2-xZnF2-20ZnO, where x = 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 mol%). In general, as the concentration of ZnF2 increases: (i) the thermal stability, the optical transparency window, and the lifetime of the I-4(13/2) level increase; (ii) the density, the linear refractive index, the Rayleigh scattering loss, and the OH- ion concentration decrease; and (iii) the Er3+ ion emission cross section spectrum is quenched and the bandwidth is reduced. The I-4(13/2) level lifetime increase may be associated with the luminescence re-absorption and the radiative transition (S-4(3/2) - I-4(13/2)) processes, since both processes may contribute to the I-4(13/2) level population. The Er3+ ion emission cross section spectrum (at around 1550 nm) of oxy-fluoride tellurite glass containing 30 mol% of ZnF2 was very similar to those of Fluoride glasses. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.