Infrared fluorescence, energy transfer process and quantitative analysis of thulium-doped niobium silicate-germanate glass

Infrared fluorescence, energy transfer process, thermal stability and quantitative analysis of Tm3+ doped novel niobium silicate-germanate glasses have been investigated. The thermal stability changes indicate that the introduction of La2O3 to substitute for Nb2O5 can improve the anti-crystallization of present glass system. Intense 1.8 μm fluorescence has been achieved and the value of emission cross section can reach as high as 12.2 × 10−21 cm2. Besides, the microparameters of energy transfer were analyzed by the extended overlap integral method. Hence, the results indicate that the excellent spectroscopic characteristics of this kind of silicate-germanate glass together with the good thermal properties may become a promising matrix applied for 1.8 μm band near-infrared laser.