Broadband Emission in Tellurite Glasses

Tellurite glasses are excellent hosts for broadband and superbroadband emission, which have many applications. This chapter provides the prospective of broadband absorbing/emitting lanthanide and transition metal-doped glasses and glass-ceramics, attending to their emission ranges and bandwidth, with particular emphasis on lanthanide-doped tellurite glasses. The most common emitting ions are presented one by one. Next, it focuses on the spectroscopy and the Judd–Ofelt parameters and their related radiative properties exclusively for Er3+-doped tellurite glasses, as well as a brief description of the other lanthanide ions. The different parameters that affect the broadband absorption/emission in tellurite glasses are then reviewed. In addition, we summarize the dopants that can exhibit broadband emission (not only in the near-infrared region but also in the visible region) and their bandwidth along with their energy level structures. Finally, the different applications of tellurite glasses are explored, including lanthanide and transition metal ions, fiber amplifiers, Raman amplifies, superbroadband emission for telecommunications, supercontinuum generation, solar devices, and possible applications in laser-induced cooling.