Ultrabroad emission from a bismuth doped chalcogenide glass

We report emission from a bismuth doped chalcogenide glass which is flattened, has a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 600 nm, peaks at 1300 nm and covers the entire telecommunications window. At cryogenic temperatures the FWHM reaches 850 nm. The quantum efficiency and lifetime were as high as 32% and 175 mus, respectively. We also report two new bismuth emission bands at 2000 and 2600 nm. Absorption bands at 680, 850, 1020 and 1180 nm were observed. The 1180 nm absorption band was previously unobserved. We suggest that the origin of the emission in Bi:GLS is Bi22- dimers.