Time resolved luminescence in (Tm:Ho) doped tellurite glass

Abstract Thulium (Tm 3+ ) doped and Holmium (Ho 3+ ) codoped tellurite glasses with the composition TeO 2 –ZnO–Li 2 O–Bi 2 O 3 –CsCl have been investigated in relation to its time decay resolved luminescence, which was used to measure the donor (Tm) and acceptor (Ho) luminescence decays induced by resonant laser excitations. The mechanisms involved in Tm( 3 F 4 ) decay and Tm( 3 F 4 )→Ho( 5 I 7 ) energy transfer were investigated. The lifetimes of excited Tm( 3 H 4 ), Tm( 3 F 4 ) and Ho( 5 I 7 ) were measured by using short pulsed laser excitation at proper wavelength. The behavior from these ions in terms of the luminescence decay was completely different from fluoride and other tellurite glasses found in literature. One explanation about this behavior may be related to the presence of CsCl in the glass matrix that improves, for example, the amplifier performance.