Superbroadband near-infrared emission and energy transfer in Pr3+-Er3+ codoped fluorotellurite glasses.

We report the first demonstration of superbroadband emission extending from 1.30 to 1.68 μm in praseodymium(Pr(3+))-erbium(Er(3+)) codoped fluorotellurite glasses under 488 nm excitation. This superbroad near-infrared emission is contributed by the Pr(3+): (1)D(2)→(1)G(4) and Er(3+): (4)I(13/2)→(4)I(15/2) transitions which lead to emissions located at 1.48 and 1.53 μm, respectively. The quenching of the Pr(3+) emission resulted from the cross relaxation [(1)D(2), (3)H(4)]→[(1)G(4), (3)F(3,4)] was effectively compensated by the codoping of Er(3+). The results suggest that, other than the heavy-metal and transition-metal elements of active bismuth (Bi), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr), etc., Pr(3+)-Er(3+) codoped system is a promising alternative for the broadband near-infrared emission covering the expanded low-loss window.