Bismuth and erbium codoped optical fiber with ultrabroadband luminescence across O-, E-, S-, C-, and L-bands.

We report the first (to our knowledge) development of a Bi/Er/Al/P codoped germanosilica optical fiber showing ultrabroadband luminescence between 1000 and 1570 nm, covering O-, E-, S-, C-, and L-bands, when pumped by 532, 808, or 980 nm lasers. The fluorescence profiles are found highly pump wavelength dependent, closely associated with different combinations of excitations from both Bi centers and Er ions as active centers. With a proper selection of pump wavelength(s), this Bi/Er codoped fiber could be used as an ultrabroadband gain medium for ultrabroadband amplified spontaneous emission sources, fiber lasers, or amplifiers in telecommunications and in other fields.