Spectral properties of erbium-doped lead halotellurite glasses

Broadband erbium-doped fiber amplifiers at 1.5 μm band, an important communication band, are generating great interest in order to increase the transmission capacity of wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) transmission networks. The host materials for Er³⁺ doping are very important for obtaining an intrinsically broad amplifier bandwidth. This paper reports the spectral properties of the Er³⁺ doped lead halotellurite glasses, PbX₂-TeO₂ (X = F, Cl, Br). The measured absorption and emission spectra were analyzed by Judd-Ofelt and McCumber theories. It was found that Er³⁺ doped lead halotellurite glasses have a good glass stability, high refractive indices, high absorption and stimulated emission cross sections, and a very broad bandwidth for 1.5 μm absorption and emission. The 1.5 μm band, which has a substantial magnetic dipole transition component, is a special band whose bandwidth increases significantly with the refractive index of the host material. It is expected that the halotellurite glasses will be the promising host materials for 1.5 μm broadband amplification.