The influence of the addition of Y2O3 on the structural, spectroscopic, and laser properties of newly prepared Er, Yb-doped strontium-sodium phosphate glass was investigated. While the addition of Y2O3 has a small influence on the absorption spectra and fluorescence lifetime, it has a strong impact on the emission cross-section and on OH- content. The glasses were used as the active medium for diode-pumped laser emitting at 1556 nm. The increase in Y2O3 content leads to a significant 35% increase in laser slope efficiency up to 10.4%, but at the expense of the substantial reduction of the wavelength tunability from 82 to 54 nm.
Keywords: erbium Er3+; glass; laser; phosphate; spectroscopy; ytterbium Yb3+; yttrium.