Erbium

Erbium (Er) — 10-Year Trends

As of 2026-09-11 · the last 10 years

Erbium’s research intensity stands at 96% of its all-time peak, a level reached within this decade.

Research intensity for erbium has followed a steady climb over the last ten years, rising from about 87% of the element's own all-time peak in 2016 to about 96% in 2026. The all-time peak occurred in 2023, which falls inside this window, and over the same span erbium’s share of research attention across all elements rose. Among the 118 elements, erbium has a larger-than-average research literature.

The number of papers involving the element rose from about 2,631 in 2016 to about 4,853 in 2025 (1.84x). That is slower than the literature as a whole grew over the same years, so the element lost ground in the wider body of research even as its own count rose.

The core of erbium research remains anchored in Erbium-Doped Fiber Lasers and Amplifiers, a community focused on erbium-doped fiber lasers, amplifiers, and pulse generation, including mode-locked and Q-switched systems. Erbium is one strand of a broader community, with about 20% of its papers involving erbium. This group accounts for about 50% of the element's recent research, though its share has declined from 57% in the earlier period. A key contribution is a 2024 paper on a highly sensitive LITES sensor based on a multi-pass cell, cited over 330 times.

A second major area is Erbium-Doped Waveguide Amplifiers in Integrated Photonics, where research focuses on erbium-doped lithium niobate and fiber waveguides to achieve optical net gain for integrated photonic circuits. Here, erbium is a minor presence in a much larger community, with about 3% of its papers involving erbium. This community holds about 10% of the element's recent research, a steady share compared to the previous period. Notable work includes a 2022 paper in Science on a photonic integrated circuit–based erbium-doped amplifier, cited over 380 times.

The third material community is Erbium Doped Tellurite Glass for Optical Fiber Lasers, which examines the optical properties of erbium-doped tellurite and zinc tellurite glasses for use in fiber lasers and optical amplifiers. Erbium is a minor presence in this broader community, with about 5% of its papers involving erbium. It represents about 5% of the element's recent research, a steady share. The most cited work in this group is a 2026 publication on rare-earth-doped fiber lasers and amplifiers, cited over 810 times.

Overall, the composition of erbium research has shifted slightly away from fiber lasers toward other areas, with the "Other research communities" band growing to about 35% of the element's recent work. For a deeper look at the current state of these fields, see the element's Last 12 Months and Executive Brief reports.