Raman gain in niobium-phosphate glasses

In this paper, niobium-phosphate glasses doped with rare earths (Er and Sm) are investigated byRaman scattering. The goal of Raman characterization is twofold: (a) to perform a fine structuralcharacterization of the synthesized glasses and (b) to measure the Raman gain coefficient of thesamples and to compare it with fused silica. The results reveal the presence of NbO6 octahedra andNb–O–P–Nb–O mixed chains. A broadening of bandwidth and a significant enhancement (about 24 times) in gain coefficient G with respect to conventional silica glasses are also demonstrated.