Transparent Ho3+-doped nano-glass-ceramics for efficient infrared emission - art. no. 073111

We developed transparent 3.5 mol % Ho3+-doped oxyfluoride nano-glass-ceramics, where the Ho3+-dopants dissolve in the 6 nm diameter beta-PbF2 nanocrystals. The cubic site of Ho3+ and a low vibration frequency of its PbF2 environment result in an intense and 50 nm broad emission band I-5(6)-> I-5(8) of Ho3+ at 1.2 mu m with a temperature independent lifetime of 1.6 ms. Another 40 nm broad emission band F-5(5)-> I-5(6) at 1.47 mu m with a lifetime of 24 mu s was also excited, the lifetime of this band increased to 60 mu s at 77 K. These two bands have potential application for optical amplification in telecommunications.