Comparison of Nd3+-doped glasses for amplification in the 1300-nm region

Excited-state-absorption and stimulated-emission cross-section spectra have been measured in the 1300-nm region for a wide variety of Nd3+-doped glass compositions. The results indicate that fluoroberyllates are the best choice for fiber amplifiers in the 1300-nm optical communications window. Model calculations predict a gain spectrum peaked at 1314 nm with useful gain extending from 1304 to 1370 nm when amplified spontaneous emission is neglected.