Thermal stability and spectroscopic properties of Er3+-doped niobium tellurite glasses for broadband amplifiers

Three Er3+-doped tellurite glasses with compositions of 70TeO2-30ZnO, 70TeO2-20ZnO-10Nb2O5 and 70TeO2-20ZnO-5BaO-5Nb2O5 have been investigated for developing fiber and planar broadband amplifiers and lasers. The optical spectroscopic properties and thermal stability of Er3+-doped tellurite glasses have been discussed. The results show that the incorporation of Nb2O5 increases the thermal stability of Er3+-doped tellurite glasses significantly, Er3+-doped niobium tellurite glasses 70TeO2-20ZnO-10Nb2O5 and 70TeO2-20ZnO-5BaO-5Nb2O5 exhibit the good thermal stability (ΔT > 150 °C), the large emission cross-section (>10 × 10−21 cm2) and broad full width at half maximum (∼65 nm), will be preferable for broadband Er3+-doped fiber amplifiers.