Spectroscopic study of Er-doped Ga2Ge5S13 glass for mid-IR laser applications

Abstract

We present mid-IR spectroscopic characterization of the low-phonon chalcogenide glass, Ga2Ge5S13 (GGS) doped with Er3+ ions. Under the excitation at ∼800 nm, Er3+:GGS exhibited broad mid-IR emission bands centered at ∼2.7, ∼3.5, and ∼4.5 µm at room temperature. The emission lifetime of the 4I9/2 level of Er3+ ions in GGS glass was found to be millisecond-long at room temperature. The measured fluorescence lifetimes were nearly independent of temperature, indicating negligibly small nonradiative decay rate for the 4I9/2 state, as can be expected for a low-maximum-phonon energy host. The transition line-strengths, radiative lifetimes, fluorescence branching ratios were calculated by using the Judd-Ofelt method. The peak stimulated emission cross-section of the 4I9/2 → 4I11/2 transition of Er3+ ion was determined to be ∼0.10×10−20 cm2 at room temperature.