Spectroscopic properties of Nd-doped Bi2O3-GeO2/SiO2 glasses

We report on the fabrication and characterization of Nd-doped Bi2O3-GeO2/SiO2 glass. The glass samples were synthesized by melt quenching procedure and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Raman spectroscopy. Near-infrared (NIR) emission was found at about 1065 nm under 590 nm and 808 nm laser diodes (LDs) excitation. The highest stimulated emission cross-section (ECS, σem) for the luminescence of 1065 nm can reach up to 3.89 × 10−20 cm2. The markedly increased absorption at 808 nm contributes to the strong emission at 1065 nm (808 nm pump) in Nd-doped Bi2O3-GeO2/SiO2 glasses. The Nd-doped Bi2O3-GeO2/SiO2 glass can be exploited as a good optical laser material.