Spectral Properties of Erbium-Doped Oxyfluoride Silicate Glasses for Broadband Optical Amplifiers

The new oxyfluoride silicate glasses of Er 3+ -doped 50SiO 2 -(50- x )PbO- x PbF 2 were prepared. With increasing PbF 2 content in the glass composition, the fluorescence full width at half maximum and lifetimes of the 4 I 13/2 level of Er 3+ increase, while the refractive indices and densities decrease. Er 3+ -doped 50SiO 2 -50PbF 2 glass showed broad fluorescence spectra of 1.55 mu m with a large stimulated emission cross-section and long lifetimes of 4 I 13/2 level of Er 3+ . Compared with other glass hosts, the gain bandwidth properties of Er 3+ -doped 50SiO 2 -50PbF 2 glass are close to those of tellurite and bismuth glasses, and have advantages over those of silicate, phosphate and germante glasses. The broad and flat 4 I 13/2 → 4 I 15/2 emission of Er 3+ around 1.55 µm can be used as host material for potential broadband optical amplifier in wavelength-division-multiplexing network system.