Improvement of 1.53 μm band fluorescence and energy transfer in Er3+/Ce3+ codoped tellurite glasses

• Er3+/Ce3+ codoped tellurite glass containing B2O3 was prepared by melt-quenching method.
• The prepared glasses with B2O3 component have good thermal stability.
• 1.53 μm fluorescence intensity improved evidently with an enhanced phonon-assisted ET.
• The ET mechanism between Er3+/Ce3+ was investigated via calculating micro-parameters.

The high phonon-energy oxide of B2O3 was introduced into the Er3+/Ce3+ codoped tellurite glasses with composition of TeO2–ZnO–Na2O to improve the 1.53 μm band fluorescence intensity of Er3+ and thermal stability of glass hosts. To evaluate the effect of B2O3 component on the fluorescence properties of Er3+ and thermal stability of glass hosts, the absorption spectra, upconversion emission spectra, fluorescence emission spectra, fluorescence lifetimes, Raman spectra and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) curves of glass samples were measured and investigated, respectively. It is shown that the introduction of an appropriate amount of B2O3 component can further improve the 1.53 μm band fluorescence intensity through an enhanced phonon-assisted energy transfer between Er3+ and Ce3+ ions, and the energy transfer mechanism is investigated quantitatively in detail by calculating energy transfer micro-coefficients and phonon contributions. Furthermore, the thermal stability of glass hosts increases with the B2O3 component amount, and meanwhile relevant spectroscopic parameters and quantum transition efficiencies of Er3+ are calculated and analyzed using Judd–Ofelt theory. The present results indicate that the prepared Er3+/Ce3+ codoped tellurite glass with an appropriate amount of B2O3 component has good prospect as a gain medium applied for 1.53 μm band broad and high-gain EDFA.