The glass-forming region and 2.7 μm emission of Er3+-doped TeO2−Ta2O5−ZnO tellurite glass

Abstract An Er3+-doped TeO2 − Ta2O5 − ZnO (TTZ) tellurite glass has been investigated to explore its possible application in mid-infrared laser glass and fiber lasers. Glass-forming region of the ternary TTZ glass system was determined based on the thermodynamic calculation and experiments. Physical and optical properties of the TTZ glass were characterized in detail by using Raman, different scanning calorimetry, luminescence spectra, and fluorescence decay curves. An intense 2.7 μm emission was observed in Er3+-doped TTZ glasses upon the excitation of 980 nm laser diode (LD). The excellent thermal stability (△Tmax = 203 °C), low maximum phonon energy (~770 cm−1), high emission cross-section (0.82 × 10−20 cm2) and spectroscopic figure of merit (3.22 × 10−24 cm2s) indicate that the Er3+-doped TTZ glass could be a promising candidate for efficient ~ 3 μm fiber lasers and amplifiers.