In this work, we report the spectroscopic properties of the infrared ³H₄→³F₄ emission of Tm³⁺ ions in two different compositions of glasses based on TeO₂, WO₃, and PbO for three Tm₂O₃ concentrations (0.1, 0.5, and 1 wt%). Judd-Ofelt intensity parameters have been determined and used to calculate the radiative transition probabilities and radiative lifetimes. The infrared emission at around 1490 nm corresponding to the ³H₄→³F₄ transition has two noticeable features if compared to fluoride glasses used for S-band amplifiers. On one hand, it is broader by nearly 30 nm, and on the other, the stimulated emission cross section is twice the value for fluoride glasses. Both the relative intensity ratio of the 1490 nm emission to 1820 nm and the measured lifetime of the ³H₄ level decrease as concentration increases, due to the existence of energy transfer via cross-relaxation among Tm³⁺ ions. The analysis of the decays from the ³H₄ level with increasing concentration indicates the presence of a dipole-dipole quenching process assisted by energy migration.

Laser Induced Forward Transfer (LIFT) has been studied in the past as a promising approach for precise metallization in electronics using metallic inks and pastes. In this work we present large area metallization using LIFT of fully commercial silver-based pastes initially designed for solar cell screen-printing. We discuss the mechanisms for the material transfer both in ns and ps regimes of irradiation of these high viscosity materials, and the potential use of this technique in the photovoltaic industry (both in standard c-Si solar cells and thin film technologies) and flexible electronics devices.In particular we summarize the results of our group in this field, demonstrating that our approach is capable of improving the aspect ratio of the standard metallization patterns achieved with screen-printing technologies in those technological fields and, in addition, of fulfilling the requirements imposed by the mechanical properties of the substrates in flexible electronic applications