Pr 3+ ‐ and Pr 3+ /Er 3+ ‐Doped Selenide Glasses for Potential 1.6 μm Optical Amplifier Materials

1.6 µm emission originated from Pr 3+ : ( 3 F 3 , 3 F 4 ) → 3 H 4 transition in Pr 3+ ‐ and Pr 3+ /Er 3+ ‐doped selenide glasses was investigated under an optical pump of a conventional 1480 nm laser diode. The measured peak wavelength and full‐width at half‐maximum of the fluorescent emission are ~1650 nm and ~120 nm, respectively. A moderate lifetime of the thermally coupled upper manifolds of ~212 ± 10 µs together with a high stimulated emission cross‐section of ~(3 ± 1)×10 −−20 cm 2 promises to be useful for 1.6 µm band fiber‐optic amplifiers that can be pumped with an existing high‐power 1480 nm laser diode. Codoping Er 3+ enhances the emission intensity by way of a nonradiative Er 3 +: 4 I 13/2 → Pr 3+ : ( 3 F 3 , 3 F 4 ) energy transfer. The Dexter model based on the spectral overlap between donor emission and acceptor absorption describes well the energy transfer from Er 3+ to Pr 3+ in these glasses. Also discussed in this paper are major transmission loss mechanisms of a selenide glass optical fiber.