Tm(3+)/Yb(3+)co-doped tellurite glass for broadband optical amplifying over S+L bands.

A kind of novel fluorescence which possesses a potential application in wide-band optical amplifying is reported in this paper. With 975-nm LD laser pumping and Yb(3+)-assisted energy transferring, the fluorescence of Tm(3+)in the tellurite glass can be measured with emission spectra in 1.4- and 1.6- microm bands, which would be continued to the 1.53 microm of the Er(3+). The full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) is 170 nm(110 + 60nm), and the lifetimes come up to 0.66 and 1.46 ms. Then, an interpretation was given to the mechanism of IR fluorescence emission which is based on the energy transferring and up-conversion of Tm(3+), Yb(3+) and Er(3+).