Photoluminescence and energy transfer progress in Er-doped Bi2O3-GeO2 glasses

The Er-doped Bi2O3-GeO2 glass samples were produced by melt quenching procedure. The obtained glasses were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL) technologies and Raman measurements. Near-infrared (NIR) emission was found at about 1525 nm under 808 nm laser diode (LD) excitation, and the decay constants were within 1-2 ms. The emission intensity increased dramatically with increasing of Er dopant until the Er is up to 2 mol%, which was mainly due to the highly increased optical absorption of 808 nm. The energy transfer process from Bi to Er ions was discussed. The Er-doped Bi2O3-GeO2 glass could be a good light-emitting material for 1530 nm emission.