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Abstract

A tellurite glass particularly usable for an amplifier or oscillator utilizing an optical fiber or other guided wave structure. In approximate terms, the glass contain between 58 and 84 molar % of TeO.sub.2, up to 24 molar % Na.sub.2 O, and between 10 and 30 molar % of ZnO. Other alkali and divalent metals may be substituted for the Na and Zn respectively. Combinations of these tellurite glasses can be formed as an optical fiber (10) having a core (12) with a higher refractive index than that of the cladding (14). The tellurite glass of the core, when composed of at least 0.05 molar % Na.sub.2 O, can be doped with large amounts of Er, Pr, or Nd to act as a fiber amplifier at 1.5 or 1.3 .mu.m when pumped with light of a specified shorter wavelength. The core can be doped with other rare-earth metals which would provide optical amplifiers or oscillators at wavelengths appropriate to their lasing characteristics.

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First Claim