Dissipation and sensitization of electron-excitation energy in erbium laser glasses

An experimental study is presented of the radiationless transfer of electron-excitation energy in the system of Yb(3+), Er(3+), and Nd(3+) ions. The parameters of elementary donor-acceptor interactions are studied as a function of glass composition, and types of glass former and modifier. It is shown that the significant differences in the macroscopic efficiencies of Yb(3+)-Er(3+) and Nd(3+)-Yb(3+) in different glasses cannot be explained by the dependence of the parameters of donor-acceptor interactions on glass composition. Instead, the explanation lies in the characteristics of the migration-accelerated quenching of the luminescence of rare earth ions in different types of glasses at high concentrations of energy donors.