Fabrication and luminescence behavior of phosphate glass ceramics co-doped with Er3+ and Yb3+

Transparent phosphate glass ceramics co-doped with Er3+ and Yb3+ in the system P2O5Li2OCaF2TiO2 were successfully synthesized by melt-quenching and subsequent heating. Formation of the nanocrystals was confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction. Judd–Ofelt analyses of Er3+ ions in the precursor glasses and glass ceramics were performed to evaluate the intensity parameters Ω2,4,6. Under 975 nm excitation, intense upconversion (UC) and infrared emission (1545 nm) were observed in the glass ceramics by efficient energy transfer from Yb3+ to Er3+. The luminescence processes were explained and the emission cross section was calculated by Fuchtbauer–Ladenburg (F–L) formula. The results confirm the potential applications of Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped glass ceramics as laser and fiber amplifier media.