Broadband NIR emission from Te doped silicate glass as gc-LED light source for biological detection

Near-infrared (NIR) glass-converted light-emitting diodes (gc-LEDs) are newly emergent broadband light sources for miniaturizing optical systems like spectrometers. While lots of effort has been spent on materials doped with rare-earth and transition-metal ions, the achievement of these materials with broadband NIR emission and desired wavelength region remains a long-standing challenge, especially operating in the spectral region between 700 and 1100 nm. Herein, a broadband NIR LEDs based on Te cluster-doped silicate glass is developed. Through adjustment of melting atmosphere and network topology of the glass matrix, active NIR Te cluster centers can be generated and stabilized in silicate glass and show a broad emission at 980 nm with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 300 nm under blue light excitation. The photoluminescence of the glass matches well with the absorption of several primary chemical bonds in food and biological tissue. In demonstration experiments, the NIR absorption of different biological tissue by NIR light from our glass is measured, suggesting that the super-broad NIR luminescence of Te-doped silicate glass has potential applications as light sources for nondestructive analysis.