Effect of Bi2O3 on spectroscopic properties of Er3+-doped lead oxyfluorosilicate glasses for broadband optical amplifiers

Abstract The spectroscopic properties of Er 3+ -doped lead oxyfluorosilicate glasses were analyzed with Judd–Ofelt and McCumber theories. The obtained data suggest that the fluorescence full width at half maximum (FWHM) is related to the Ω 6 parameter, the larger the Ω 6 parameter, and the broader the FWHM. The results showed that Er 3+ -doped 45SiO 2 –5Bi 2 O 3 –50PbF 2 glass had the broadest FWHM (64 nm) and large stimulated emission cross-section (0.73 × 10 −20 cm 2 ) in these glass samples. Compared with other glass hosts, the gain bandwidth properties of Er 3+ -doped 45SiO 2 –5Bi 2 O 3 –50PbF 2 glass is close to those of tellurite and bismuth glasses, and has advantage over those of silicate, phosphate and germante glasses. The results suggest that Er 3+ -doped 45SiO 2 –5Bi 2 O 3 –50PbF 2 glass can be used as potential host material for developing broadband optical amplifiers in wavelength-division-multiplexing network system.