Super broadband near-infrared luminescence in Ni2 +-Er3 + co-doped transparent glass ceramics

Abstract Ni 2 + -Er 3 + co-doped glass ceramics containing ZnGa 2 O 4 nanocrystals were fabricated by in situ controlled crystallization method. The adverse energy transfer between Ni 2 + and Er 3 + could be suppressed in the ZnGa 2 O 4 glass ceramics. And the super-broadband infrared luminescence with full width at half maximum (FWHM) of about 400 nm covering 1.1–1.7 μm wavelength region was observed in Ni 2 + -Er 3 + co-doped glass ceramics. The two lifetimes of 1NE-GC950 revealed that two luminescence mechanism involved in the luminescence process, Ni 2 + : 3 T 2g ( 3 F) →  3 A 2g ( 3 F) and Er 3 + : 4 I 13/2  →  4 I 15/2 respectively. Compared to that in the Ni 2 + /Er 3 + co-doped glass ceramic containing γ-Ga 2 O 3 and LaF 3 nanocrystals, the nanocrystals in the present paper is just only one, ZnGa 2 O 4 nanocrystals, and it could also present super-broadband luminescence.