Fluoroindate glass co-doped with yb3+ /ho3+ as a 2.85 µm luminescent source for mid-ir sensing

Abstract

This work reports on the fabrication and analysis of near-infrared and mid-infrared luminescence spectra and their decays in fluoroindate glasses co-doped with Yb3+ /Ho3+ . The attention has been paid to the analysis of the Yb3+ → Ho3+ energy transfer processed ions in fluoroindate glasses pumped by 976 nm laser diode. The most effective sensitization for 2 µm luminescence has been obtained in glass co-doped with 0.8YbF3 /1.6HoF3 . Further study in the mid-infrared spectral range (2.85 µm) showed that the maximum emission intensity has been obtained in fluoroindate glass co-doped with 0.1YbF3 /1.4HoF3 . The obtained efficiency of Yb3+ → Ho3+ energy transfer was calculated to be up to 61% (0.8YbF3 /1.6HoF3 ), which confirms the possibility of obtaining an efficient glass or glass fiber infrared source for a MID-infrared (MID-IR) sensing application.