Improved Fluorescence from Tm³⁺/Er³⁺/Ce³⁺ Triply Doped Bismuth-Silicate Glasses for S+C-bands Amplifiers

Fluorescence of Tm³⁺/Er³⁺ codoped bismuth-silica (BS) glasses and the sensitization of Ce³⁺ are investigated. It shows that Ce³⁺ codoping with Tm³⁺/Er³⁺ in BS glasses results in a quenching of Tm³⁺ ion emission from ³⁺F₄ to the ³⁺H₄ level. Consequently, the 1.47μm emission occurs after the population inversion between the ³⁺H₄ and ³⁺F₄ levels. Furthermore, the codoped glasses show the broad emission spectra over the whole S and C bands with full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) up to about 119nm, as it combines 1.55μm emission band of Er³⁺ with 1.47μm emission band of Tm³⁺ under 800nm excitation.