6–10 Jul 2026
University of the Western Cape
Africa/Johannesburg timezone
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Optimization of bismuth doped strontium borate for application in fibre optics

7 Jul 2026, 17:20
1h 20m
Great Hall (University of the Western Cape)

Great Hall

University of the Western Cape

Poster Presentation Track C - Photonics Poster Session 1

Speaker

Caitlin van Wyk

Description

Fibre optics enables the transmission of light through total internal reflection and underpins modern telecommunication systems. For efficient optical signal amplification over long distances, fibres are usually directly doped with luminescent ions and pumped with laser diodes. While this approach is simple, currently there is a lack of cost-effective and efficient fibre amplifiers operating in the near-infrared range (1150–1500 nm). Bismuth luminescent centers are emerging as promising candidates due to their broadband near-infrared emission. However, directly bismuth-doped fibres are limited by the low concentration of optically active bismuth centers participating in the luminescent process. In this study, a novel approach was investigated by incorporating bismuth into the strontium tetraborate (SrB₄O₇) host material. The effects of bismuth concentration, annealing time, and annealing atmosphere were systematically investigated. Photoluminescence spectroscopy showed emission in the visible region at 590 nm and 660 nm, and in the near-infrared region at 1290 nm. These different emissions were attributed to the different oxidation states of the bismuth ions. As the bismuth concentration increased from 0.5% to 5%, a significant enhancement in infrared emission was observed. Furthermore, shorter annealing treatments resulted in stronger infrared emission compared to extended annealing, indicating a correlation between thermal processing and active center formation. Controlled variation of processing parameters demonstrated the ability to influence the dominant oxidation state within the luminescent material. This study aims to identify the synthesis conditions that enhance the infrared emission of bismuth in SrB₄O₇ and provide deeper insights into the role of the different bismuth oxidation states.

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Author

Co-authors

Dr Lucas Erasmus (University of the Free State) Prof. R.E. Kroon (Department of Physics, University of the Free State)

Presentation materials

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