  Bismuth-Gallium co-doped silica glass fiber preform was prepared from
nano-porous silica xerogels using a conventional solution doping technique with
a heterotrinuclear complex and subsequent sintering. Ga-connected optical
Bismuth active center (BAC) was identified as the analogue of Al-connected BAC.
Visible and infrared photoluminescence (PL) were investigated in a wide
temperature range of 1.46-300 K. Based on the results of the continuous wave
(CW) and time resolved spectroscopy we identify the centers emitting in the
spectral region of 480-820 nm as Bi$^+$ ions. The near infrared (NIR) PL around
1100 nm consists of two bands. While the first one can be ascribed to the
transition in Bi$^+$ ion, the second band is presumably associated to defects.
We put in evidence the energy transfer between Bi$^+$ ions and the second NIR
emitting center via quadrupole-quadrupole and dipole-quadrupole mechanisms of
interactions. Finally, we propose the energy level diagram of Bi$^+$ ion
interacting with this defect.
