1. Introduction
For multi-channel WDM transmission, it is essential to have a large bandwidth with a flat-gain spectrum for minimising the channel-to-channel gain excursion and crosstalk in a high-speed network. Although Er
3+-doped fibre and waveguide amplifiers are available, the bandwidth is limited in silicate hosts to a maximum of 40 nm at C-band (1530–1565 nm). By comparison, a tellurium oxide host with Er
3+ ion as dopant exhibits 80 nm of bandwidth across which the small-signal gain is 20 dB [
1
M. Yamada, A. Mori, K. Kobayashi, Y. Ono, T. Kanamori, K. Oikawa, Y. Nishida, and Y. Ohishi, “Gain-flattened telluride-based EDFA with a flat amplication bandwidth of 76 nm,” IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett.
10, 1244 (1998). [CrossRef]
]. It was recently shown that the inclusion of Tm-doped fluoride fibres could extend the bandwidth into the S-band (1460–1530 nm). However, the gain spectrum is not likely to be continuous [
2
W. J. Lee, “Study on the pumping wavelength dependency of S+ band fluoride based thulium doped fiber amplifier,” in Conference on Optical Fiber Communications 2001 , TuQ5-1-4.
]. A Tm
3+-doped and Er
3+-doped fibre-based device can potentially supersede the cascaded configuration of Tm
3+-doped fluoride fibre and Er
3+-doped tellurite fibre amplifiers [
3
S. Shen, A. Jha, E. Zhang, and E. Wilson, “Composition effects and spectroscopy of rare earths (Er3+, Tm3+, and Nd3+) in telluride glasses,” C. R. Chimie
5, 921 (2002). [CrossRef]
]. The available bandwidth in a tellurite fibre amplifier with Tm
3+/Er
3+ dopants is over 200 nm which can be potentially pumped with both 800 nm and 980 nm lasers. Recently, Jeong et al. [
4
H. Jeong, K. Oh, S. R. Han, and T. F. Morse, “Characterization of broadband amplified spontaneous emission from a Er3+-Tm3+ co-doped silica fiber,” Chem. Phys. Lett.
367, 507 (2003). [CrossRef]
] reported spectral characteristics of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) from an Er
3+-Tm
3+ co-doped silica fiber. When pumped at 980 nm, the ASE yielded a 3 dB bandwidth over 90 nm, from 1460 to 1550 nm.
In this paper, a broad seamless emission extending from 1.35 µm to 1.6 µm in Er3+-Tm3+ codoped tellurite glasses and fibres were observed using the pump excitation at 800 nm. The possibility of amplifying signals beyond 1600 nm is also discussed. The visible upconversion emission spectra were also recorded to understand the luminescence mechanisms. The energy transfer processes between Er3+ and Tm3+ ions are discussed.
2. Experimental
The composition of tellurite glass chosen was 89.91TeO2-5.73Na2O-4.36ZnO (wt%). The doping concentration of Er3+ in the doped glass was 0.2 wt%, while the Er3+-Tm3+-codoped tellurite glasses had a fixed concentration of 0.2 wt% Er2O3 and different concentrations of Tm2O3: 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0 wt%, respectively. The fibre produced for the characterisation of emission was doped with 0.2 wt% Er2O3 and 1.0 wt% Tm2O3. The oxide ingredients were calculated, weighed and mixed thoroughly inside a dry glove box. The weighed material was transferred into a gold crucible inside the glove box and then melted at 800 °C in an atmosphere of dry O2. The melted mixture was homogenized for 30 minutes, stirred, and allowed to equilibrate by releasing the gas bubbles formed during melting. The homogenized melt was quenched either into a preheated brass mould to cast a bulk glass, or into a preheated brass cylindrical mould for making a cylindrical shape rod of 10 mm in diameter with 20 mm in length. After casting, the glass was annealed at 285 °C for 3 hours in a muffle furnace, after which it was allowed to cool slowly inside the furnace. The glass samples were polished carefully for the optical measurements, whereas the glass rod was drawn into a 125 µm diameter unclad fibre in a fibre drawing tower.
The absorption spectrum of the sample was performed by a Perkin-Elmer Lambda 19 model spectrometer at room temperature. The 800 nm excitation line produced by a Ti-sapphire (Schwartz Electro Optics, Titan CWBB) laser pumped with two argon-ion lasers (Coherent, Innova 90) was used. The near infrared emission spectra and visible emission spectra were recorded using a scanning spectrometer equipped with an InGaAs detector (Macam Photometrics). The cut-off wavelength in the infrared range of the scanning spectrometer was 1700 nm. Lifetimes were measured by using a mechanical chopper and a digital oscilloscope (Tektronics, TDS3012). All optical experiments were carried out at room temperature.
3. Results and discussion
The absorption spectra of 0.2 wt% Er
2O
3 and 0.2 wt% Tm
2O
3 codoped tellurite glass sample at room temperature is shown in
Fig. 1. The symbols E and T represent lines due to Er
3+ and Tm
3+, respectively. Absorption bands of Er
3+ and Tm
3+ ions are all from their ground states
4I
15/2 and
3H
6 to the level specified, respectively. The band positions for Er
3+ and Tm
3+ are similar to fluoride glasses [
5
D. C. Yeh, R. R. Petrin, W. A. Sibley, V. Madigou, J. L. Adam, and M. J. Suscavage, “Energy transfer between Er3+ and Tm3+ ions in a barium fluoride-thorium fluoride glass,” Phys. Rev. B
39, 80 (1989). [CrossRef]
]. The absorption spectra are similar for all the samples used in this study and the absorption coefficients are proportional to the concentrations of Er
3+ and Tm
3+ ions in the samples.
Figure 2 shows the normalized near infrared emission spectra of Er
3+ doped and Er
3+- codoped with Tm
3+ tellurite glasses with a pump excitation at 800 nm and a pump power of 200 mW. For the Er
3+ doped glass, the emission peak is at 1532 nm with a full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of ~50 nm, which is attributed to the
4I
13/2→
4I
15/2 transition of Er
3+. With the increasing addition of Tm
2O
3, the emission spectra broadened significantly, starting from 1350 nm to 1600 nm. It is clear from
Fig. 2 that the emission at 1465 nm, due to Tm
3+:
3H
4 →
3F
4 transition, becomes stronger with the increasing concentration of Tm
3+ ions in the glass. The
3H
4 →
3F
4 transition of Tm
3+ at 1465 nm overlaps significantly with the 1532 nm emission of Er
3+. The FWHM is ~134 nm for 0.2 wt% Er
2O
3 and 1.0 wt% Tm
2O
3 codoped tellurite glass. In addition, we also observe the short-wavelength tail of the Tm
3+ emission at 1650 nm due to the
3F
4 →
3H
6 transition. The spectroscopic analysis was limited due to the upper limit of spectrometer at 1700 nm.
Fig. 1. The absorption spectra of 0.2 wt% Er2O3 and 0.2 wt% Tm2O3 co-doped tellurite glass (thickness=4.38 mm) at room temperature. A is the absorption (10log(I/I0).
Fig. 2. The normalized near infrared emission spectra of Er3+ singly doped and codoped with Tm3+ tellurite glasses with the excitation of an 800 nm laser.
Figure 3 compares the near infrared emission spectra of 0.2 wt% Er
2O
3 and 1.0 wt% Tm
2O
3 co-doped tellurite fibres as a function of fibre length, using pump excitation at 800 nm with a pump power of 200 mW. The 24 cm long Er
3+-Tm
3+ codoped fibre exhibits a broad emission spectrum with 160 nm bandwidth. The longer wavelength part of 1.46 µm emission of Tm
3+ disappeared in a longer fibre due to the absorption via the Er
3+:
4I
15/2→
4I
13/2 transition. With increasing fibre length, both intensities of 1.46 µm emission of Tm
3+ and 1.53 µm emission of Er
3+ decrease due to the relative high fibre background loss in the unclad geometry, Er
3+:
4I
15/2→
4I
13/2 absorption, short wavelength tail of Tm
3+:
3H
6→
3F
4 absorption, and the energy transfers from Tm
3+:
3H
4 to Er
3+:
4I
9/2 and from Er
3+:
4I
13/2 to Tm
3+:
3F
4, see
Fig. 5. Moreover, the intensity of 1.53 µm emission of Er
3+ decreases faster than that of the 1.46 µm emission in Tm
3+ since an energy transfer from Er
3+:
4I
13/2 to Tm
3+:
3F
4 becomes more efficient in a longer fibre. The optimised Er
3+-Tm
3+ codoped tellurite fibres, thus is a potential short fibre device for WDM system in the S+C+L bands (1460–1625). If the length is optimised, it is possible to access L+U bands (1565–1675 nm) in the 1600 to 1700 nm regions by sacrificing the amplification below 1500 nm wavelength.
Fig. 3. The normalized near infrared emission spectra of 0.2 wt% Er2O3 and 1.0 wt% Tm2O3 co-doped tellurite unclad fibres with different fibre length under the excitation of an 800 nm laser.
In order to further understand the luminescence mechanisms, the visible emission spectra of Er
3+-doped and Er
3+-Tm
3+-codoped tellurite glasses were also measured at room temperature under 800 nm excitation within the
4I
9/2 (Er
3+) and
3H
4 (Tm
3+), as shown in
Fig. 4. It is well known that the excitation from the
4I
15/2 to the
4I
9/2 levels of Er
3+ generates the green (
2H
11/2→
4I
15/2 and
4S
3/2→
4I
15/2) and red (
4F
9/2→
4I
15/2) upconversion fluorescences in Er
3+- doped glass due to the excited state absorption and the upconversion by energy transfer. On the other hand, no upconversion fluorescence was recorded in a Tm
3+-single-doped tellurite glass with the excitation of 800 nm laser. Therefore, the green emissions at ~525 nm and ~545 nm and the red emission at ~660 nm are identified as relevant Er
3+ transitions in
Figure 5. From
Fig. 4, it should be noted that with the increasing concentrations of Tm
3+, the intensities of green emissions at ~525 nm and ~545 nm decrease drastically, while the intensity of red emission at ~660 nm increases moderately.
The near infrared and visible luminescence mechanisms for Er
3+ and Tm
3+ codoped tellurite glasses and fibres are explained on the basis of
Fig. 5. First, the 800 nm laser excitation of Tm
3+ and Er
3+ populates
3H
4 and
4I
9/2 levels from the ground states Tm
3+:
3H
6 and Er
3+:
4I
15/2, respectively. The relaxation in Tm
3+ from
3H
4→
3F
4 level yields 1465 nm emission, whereas the Er
3+ de-excites non-radiatively to
4I
11/2 then to
4I
13/2. Finally, Tm
3+ and Er
3+ relax to the respective ground states
3H
6 and
4I
15/2 generating the ~1800 nm and 1532 nm emissions. On the other hand, the Er
3+ at
4I
13/2 level may be excited to the
2H
11/2,
4S
3/2 level by absorbing an 800 nm photon or via energy transfer from another Er
3+ ion. The radiative relaxation from
2H
11/2 and
4S
3/2 levels to the ground state yields green emissions. Alternatively, non-radiative depopulation of the
2H
11/2,
4S
3/2 to
4F
9/2 level can also take place, from where the emission at 660 nm takes place. Due to the high concentrations of Tm
3+ and Er
3+ ions, the energy transfer processes between Tm
3+ and Er
3+ can potentially occur. The dominant energy transfers are described as follows [
5
D. C. Yeh, R. R. Petrin, W. A. Sibley, V. Madigou, J. L. Adam, and M. J. Suscavage, “Energy transfer between Er3+ and Tm3+ ions in a barium fluoride-thorium fluoride glass,” Phys. Rev. B
39, 80 (1989). [CrossRef]
–
8
W. Lozano, B. Cid, B. de Araujo, and Y. Messaddeq, “Enhanced frequency upconversion in Er3+ doped fluoroindate glass due to energy transfer from Tm3+
,” J. Non-Cryst. Solids
311, 318 (2002). [CrossRef]
]:
Fig. 4. The visible upconversion emission spectra of Er3+-doped and Er3+-Tm3+-codoped tellurite glasses excited by 800 laser.
Fig. 5. Energy level diagram of Er3+ and Tm3+ ions and the near infrared and visible upconversion luminescence mechanisms of Er3+ and Tm3+ codoped tellurite glasses and fibres with an 800 nm laser excitation at room temperature. The solid lines stand for the absorption and emission transitions for Er3+ and Tm3+ ions. The dashed lines represent the nonradiative relaxations. The curves stand for energy transfers (cross relaxations) between Tm3+ and Er3+.
The energy transfer process (1), which is a resonant energy transfer because of a very small gap between the Er3+: 4I9/2 and Tm3+: 3H4 levels, depopulates Tm3+: 3H4 level resulting in the reduction of the intensities of the emissions at 1465 nm and ~1800 nm from Tm3+, and the increase of the intensity of 1532 nm emission from Er3+, whereas the process (2) is un-resonant and causes the reduction of the intensity of 1532 nm emission from Er3+ and consequently enhances the emission at ~1800 nm from Tm3+. The process (3) depopulates Er3+: 4I13/2 level and consequently decreases the intensity of 1532 nm emission from Er3+ and also results in the decrease of the green and red upconversion emissions due to the second upconversion process commencing from the 4I13/2 level and the increase of the 1800 nm emission from Tm3+. The process (4) decreases the emission at ~1800 nm, but preferably promotes a large number of Er3+ions to the 4F9/2 level favouring the red upconversion emission. In the co-doped tellurite fibres, the energy transfers between Tm3+ and Er3+ would be more efficient due to long path length of the interaction between Tm3+ and Er3+ with the increasing fibre length. The energy transfer rate WET can be obtained experimentally using the following equation:
where τ
f and τ
0 are the lifetimes in the presence and absence of acceptors, respectively [
5
D. C. Yeh, R. R. Petrin, W. A. Sibley, V. Madigou, J. L. Adam, and M. J. Suscavage, “Energy transfer between Er3+ and Tm3+ ions in a barium fluoride-thorium fluoride glass,” Phys. Rev. B
39, 80 (1989). [CrossRef]
]. In addition, the energy transfer efficiency η
ET can be calculated with
The calculated energy transfer rates are 140 s-1 and 985 s-1 for the energy transfer (1) and (3) in the 0.2 wt% Er2O3 and 1.0 wt% Tm2O3 co-doped tellurite fibre, respectively, using the measured lifetimes, whereas the corresponding energy transfer efficiencies are 3.3 % and 79.2 % for the energy transfer steps (1) and (3). Clearly, a flat and broad emission is achievable in Er3+ and Tm3+ codoped tellurite fibre by modifying Er3+ and Tm3+ ions concentrations, their concentration ratios, and the fibre length. The optimised Er3+-Tm3+ codoped tellurite fibres, thus is a potential broadband fibre light source and a short fibre device for WDM systems.