Broadband near-infrared emission from transparent Ni²⁺-doped sodium aluminosilicate glass ceramics

Broadband near-infrared emission from transparent Ni²⁺-doped sodium aluminosilicate glass-ceramics is observed. The broad emission is centred at 1290 nm and covers the whole telecommunication wavelength region (1100-1700 nm) with full width at half maximum of about 340 nm. The observed infrared emission could be attributed to the ³T₂(F) → ³A₂(F) transition of octahedral Ni²⁺ ions that occupy high-field sites in nanocrystals. The product of the lifetime and the stimulated emission cross section is 2.15 × 10^-24 cm ²s. It is suggested that Ni²⁺-doped sodium aluminosilicate glass ceramics have potential applications in tunable broadband light sources and broadband amplifiers.