Broadband Near-Infrared Emission from Transparent Ni²⁺-Doped Sodium Aluminosilicate Glass Ceramics

Broadband near-infrared emission from transparent Ni²⁺-doped sodium aluminosilicate glass-ceramics is observed. The broad emission is centred at 1290nm and covers the whole telecommunication wavelength region (1100--1700nm) with full width at half maximum of about 340nm. The observed infrared emission could be attributed to the ³T₂(F) → ³A₂(F) transition of octahedral Ni²⁺ ions that occupy high-field sites in nanocrystals. The product of the lifetime and the stimulated emission cross section is 2.15×10^-24cm²s. It is suggested that Ni²⁺-doped sodium aluminosilicate glass ceramics have potential applications in tunable broadband light sources and broadband amplifiers.