Broadband 1.53 μm Emission and McCumber Analysis of Er 3+ Doped Alkali Oxyfluorophosphate Glass for Fiber Optic Communication Material

AbstractEr3+ doped alkali oxyfluorophosphate glasses were prepared by the melted quenching method and characterized their optical and photoluminescence properties. Firstly, the chemical compositions of glasses were varied by changing alkali fluoride (LiF and NaF), whereas the concentration of Er3+ was fixed at 1.00 mol%. The optical absorption pattern and intensity were resemblance. Broadband 1.53 μm emission was one prominent peak of Er3+ in glass and the highest emission intensity was obtained for NaF glass under the stimulating at 521 nm. Secondly, the NaF glass was prepared by variation of Er3+ concentration (0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, and 4.0 mol%). The emission intensity of glasses increases with an increase in Er2O3 concentration up to 2.00 mol% and decreases for higher Er2O3 concentration, because of the concentration quenching effect. Broadband emission was observed that it covers three telecommunication windows: S, C, and L bands. The absorption and emission cross-section of 2.00 mol% of Er3+ doped alkali oxyfluorophosphate were found to be 1.3895 x 10−20 cm2 and 1.7248 x 1020 cm−2, respectively by using the McCumber theory. Both values led to the estimate of the internal gain coefficient for 4I13/2→4I15/2 emission transition. The gain coefficient is positive when P is higher than 40%. All results point out that Er3+ doped alkali oxyfluorophosphate glass could be useful for fiber optic communication material.Keywords: Alkali oxyfluorophosphate glassErbiumfiber optic communication materialMcCumber theory Disclosure StatementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThe authors would like to thank the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) and Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI) for supporting this research. J. Kaewkhao would like to thank the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) under Research Grants for Talented Mid-Career Researchers Project (Project number N41A640097).