Gain properties of germanate glasses singly doped with Tm^(3+) and Ho^(3+) ions

Two kinds of germanate glasses singly doped with the ion concentration of 2.0mol.%Tm3＋ and 2.0mol.%Ho3＋, respectively, were prepared.According to McCumber theory, the absorption and stimulated emission cross-sections corresponding to the 3H6←→3F4 transitions of Tm3＋（at 1.8 μm） and the 5I8←→5I7 transitions of Ho3＋（at 2.0 μm） were obtained, and respective gain cross-section spectra were also computed as a function of population inversion according to absorption and emission cross-sections and the ion concentrations.For Tm3＋-doped germanate glasses, the maximum of the absorption, emission, and gain cross-sections reached a value higher than those reported for fluorozirconate, fluoride, and oxyfluoride glasses.For Ho3＋-doped germanate glasses, the maximum of absorption, emission, and gain cross-sections reached a value higher than that reported for fluorozircoaluminate glasses.Hence, these Tm3＋-doped and Ho3＋-doped germanate glasses exhibited an advantage for application in mid-infrared lasers at about 1.8 and 2.0 μm wavelength.

Highly efficient,tunable,ultrabroadband NIR photoemission from Bi-doped nitridated germanate glasses toward all-band amplification in optical communication

Bismuth(Bi)-doped near-infared(NIR)glass that can cover the entire optical communication window(850,1310,and1550 nm)has become the subject of extensive research for developing photonic devices,particularly,tunable fiber lasers and ultrabroadband optical amplifiers.However,the realization of highly efficient NIR luminescence from Bi-doped glass is still full of challenges.Notably,due to the co-existence of multiple Bi NIR centers in the glass,the origin of newly generated Bi NIR emission peaks at~930 and~1520 nm is still controversial.Here,we report a new Bi-doped nitridated germanate glass with tunable ultrabroadband NIR emission(850–1700 nm)and high external quantum efficiency(EQE)of~50%.A series of studies,including spectral analysis,nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR),and others,provide powerful evidence for the mechanism of luminescence enhancement and tunability,and make reasonable inferences about the origin of the new emission bands at~930 and~1520 nm.We believe that the results discussed above would enrich our understanding about multiple Bi NIR emission behaviors and contribute to the design and fabrication of highly efficient Bi-doped ultrabroadband wavelength-tunable optical glass fiber amplifiers and lasers in the future.

Emission enhancement in Er^(3+)/Pr^(3+)-codoped germanate glasses and their use as a 2.7-μm laser material

Emission enhancement at 2.7 μm is observed in Er^3＋/Pr^3＋--codoped germanate glasses when pumped by a 980-nm laser diode. Significant reductions in 1.5-μm emission and upeonversion intensity indicate efficient energy transfer between Er^3＋ and Pr^3＋; the energy transfer efficiency is as high as 77.4%. The mechanisms of energy transfer are discussed in detail. The calculated emission cross-section of Er^3＋/Pr^3＋- codoped germanate glass is 8.44× 10 ^-21 cm^2, which suggests that Er^3＋/Pr^3＋-codoped germanate glass can be used to achieve efficient 2.7-μm emission.

A Single-Frequency Linearly Polarized Fiber Laser Using a Newly Developed Heavily Tm3+-Doped Germanate Glass Fiber at 1.95 μm

A compact linearly polarized, low-noise, narrow-linewidth, single-frequency fiber laser at 1950nm is demonstrated. This compact fiber laser is based on a 21-mm-long homemade Tm3＋-doped germanate glass fiber. Over 100-mW stable continuous-wave single transverse and longitudinal mode lasing at 195Ohm are achieved. The measured relative intensity noise is less than -135dB/Hz at frequencies over 5 MHz. The signal-to-noise ratio of the laser is larger than 72dB, and the laser linewidth is less than 6kHz, while the obtained linear polarization extinction ratio is higher than 22 dB.

Bubble Generation in Germanate Glass Induced by Femtosecond Laser

We report the observation of bubble generation and migration in a germanate g/ass during irradiation by a femtosecond laser of high repetition rate. Bubbles are formed around the focal area of the laser beam, and their movement indicates the presence of thermal gravity convection in the glass melt, which is beyond the existing theoretical model about temperature l^eld of focal area. Inside the bubbles, oxygen molecules are observed by the con focal Raman micro-spectroscopy. The generation of molecular oxygen and bubbles is explained in terms of the spatial separation of Ge and 0 ions and micro-explosion inside the glass melt.

Radiation resistance property of barium gallo-germanate glass doped by Nb_(2)O_(5)

Effects of Nb_(2)O_(5)dopant on the radiation response of barium gallo-germanate(BGG)glass are studied mainly by electron paramagnetic resonance and absorption spectroscopy.Owing to the Nb^(5+)$Nb^(3+)interconversion in doped samples,formations of Ge-related non-bridging oxygen hole center and Ge-related electron center defects after g-ray irradiation are inhibited.Thereby,Nb_(2)O_(5)dopant can enhance radiation resistance of BGG glass,and 1.0%Nb2O5 concentration is the best.

Bismuth-doped germanate glass fiber fabricated by the rod-in-tube technique

Bismuth （Bi）-doped laser glasses and fiber devices have aroused wide attentions due to their unique potential to work in the new spectral range of 1 to 1.8 μm traditional laser ions, such as rare earth, cannot reach. Current Bi-dopcd silica glass fibers have to be made by modified chemical vapor deposition at a temperature higher than 2000℃. This unavoidably leads to the tremendous loss of Bi by evaporation, since the temperature is several hundred degrees Celsius higher than the Bi boiling temperature, and, therefore, trace Bi （-50 ppm） resides within the final product of silica fiber. So, the gain of such fiber is usually extremely low. One of the solutions is to make the fibers at a temperature much lower than the boiling temperature of Bi. The challenge for this is to find a lower melting point glass, which can stabilize Bi in the near infrared emission center and, meanwhile, does not lose glass transparency during fiber fabrication. None of previously reported Bi-doped multicomponent glasses can meet the prerequisite. Here, we, after hundreds of trials on optimization over glass components, activator content, melting temperature, etc., find a novel Bi-doped gallogermanate glass, which shows good tolerance to thermal impact and can accommodate a higher content of Bi. Consequently, we successfully manu- facture the germanate fiber by a rod-in-tube technique at 850℃. The fiber exhibits similar luminescence to the bulk glass, and it shows saturated absorption at 808 nm rather than 980 nm as the incident power becomes higher than 4 W. Amplified spontaneous emissions are observed upon the pumps of either 980 or 1064 nm from ger- manate fiber.

Barium Gallogermanate Glass Ceramics for Infrared Applications

The germanate glass ceramics is a potential candidate material for infrared （IR） dome and window applications. The crystallization mechanism of 20BaO-10Ga2O3-70GeO2 glass was investigated by differential thermal analysis （DTA）, scanning electron microscopy （SEM） and X-ray diffraction （XRD）. Two different types of phase evolution were found in the early stage of crystallization： （1） the further growth of the microcrystal formed during the slow cooling of glass melt and （2） the glass-in-glass phase separation. The controlled crystatlization was obtained by two-step heat treatment. obtained, with expected thermal and mechanical The middle infrared （MIR）-transparent glass ceramics were improvements.