Influence of temperature on the photoluminescence efficiency of chalcogenide GeS2-Ga2S3-Er2S3 glasses

The photoluminescence (PL) excited with 514.5 nm light of the (GeS2)80(Ga2S3)20 glassy host doped with Er at low temperatures from 4.2 to 300 K has been studied. It has been found that the PL efficiency is maximum at 1.22 at.% Er and considerably increases by temperature decreasing down to 4.2 K and excitation power increasing till 200 mW cm−2. The PL emission band from Er3+ state at around 1538 nm, attributed to the 4I15/2 → 4I13/2 transition, has been characterized by deconvoluting the experimental spectra. The intensity variation of the obtained subbands at 1538 ± 1, 1547 ± 2 and 1575 ± 7 nm with Er content and temperature has been specified and the extracted fine features have been evaluated with a view to enhanced PL efficiency.