Enhanced 1.53-μm emission and lowered upconversion of Er3+-doped gallate–lead–bismuth–germanium glass by rare-earth co-doping

We have investigated spectroscopic properties and energy transfer (ET) of Er3+/RE3+ (RE3+ = Ce3+, Tb3+, and Eu3+) codoped Ga2O3–PbO–Bi2O3–GeO2 (GPBG) glass. An intense 1.53-μm emission with a full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 48 nm and a peak emission cross-section of 1.14 × 10−20 cm2 of Er3+-doped GPBG glass has been obtained upon 980 nm diode-laser excitation. Effects of rare-earths RE3+ (RE3+ = Ce3+, Tb3+, and Eu3+) co-doping on the spectroscopic properties of the GPBG glass have also been investigated. It is found that the incorporation of RE3+ into Er3+-doped GPBG glass could effectively reduce upconversion (UC) emission. Moreover, co-doping Ce3+ could also enhanced the 1.53-μm emission quite significantly, which makes Er3+-doped GPBG glass more attractive for using in 1.53-μm optical fiber amplifiers.