Infrared luminescence of erbium-doped sodium lead germanate glass

The infrared optical properties of Er3+ ions are reported for 60GeO2–20PbO–20Na2O glass for two Er2O3 concentrations. From the optical absorption spectra, the Judd–Ofelt (J–O) parameters have been obtained and have been used to calculate radiative lifetimes and stimulated emission cross sections. A narrow emission band peaked at 1536 nm with exponential decay for both Er concentrations is observed. The measured lifetime decreases for increasing Er concentration, its value being very close, in the case of the lowest doping level, to the radiative lifetime calculated from J–O analysis. This, together with the relatively high from J–O analysis. This, together with the relatively high emission cross section makes this glass suitable for laser applications. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación under MAT 2009-14369-C02-02 and MAT 2009-14282-C02-01 Projects. We acknowledge Dr. J. Toudert (LPG, CSIC) for performing refractive index measurements.Peer Reviewe