Nd3+-doped antimony germanate glass for 1.06 μm fiber lasers

Abstract In this work, a multicomponent GeO2–Sb2O3–BaO (BSG) glass is explored to assess its potential for 1.06 μm fiber lasers. The glass-forming region of BSG system is predicted and determined experimentally based on a thermodynamic method. Benefitting from the incorporation of Sb2O3, this system possesses an exceptionally large glass-forming region, as well as high density and refractive index, wide infrared transmission range and low phonon energy. Furthermore, an efficient near-infrared emission at 1064 nm from Nd3+ has been realized in this oxide glass with relatively long measured lifetime (200.58 ± 1.24 μs) and large emission cross-section (3.015 ± 0.090 × 10−20 cm2), indicating that Nd3+-doped BSG glass is a promising candidate for laser application in 1.06 μm region.