Germanium oxide (GeO2) and tellurium oxide (TeO2) based glasses are classed as the heavy metal oxide glasses, with phonon energies ranging between 740 cm(-1) and 880 cm(-1). These two types of glasses exhibit unique combinations of optical and spectroscopic properties, together with their attractive environmental resistance and mechanical properties. Engineering such a combination of structural, optical and spectroscopic properties is only feasible as a result of structural variability in these two types of glasses, since more than one structural units (TeO4 bi-pyramid, TeO3 trigonal pyramid, and TeO3+delta polyhedra) in tellurite and (GeO4 tetrahedron, GeO3 octahedron) in GeO2 based glasses may exist, depending on composition. The presence of multiple structural moities creates a range of dipole environments which is ideal for engineering broad spectral bandwidth rare-earth ion doped photonic device materials, suitable for laser and amplifier devices. Tellurite glasses were discovered in 1952, but remained virtually unknown to materials and device engineers until 1994 when unusual spectroscopic, nonlinear and dispersion properties of alkali and alkaline earth modified tellurite glasses and fibres were reported. Detailed spectroscopic analysis of Pr3+, Nd3+, Er3+ and Tm3+ doped tellurite glasses revealed its potential for laser and amplifier devices for optical communication wavelengths. This review summarises the thermal and viscosity properties of tellurite and germanate glasses for fibre fabrication and compares the linear loss for near and mid-IR device engineering. The aspects of glass preform fabrication for fibre engineering is discussed by emphasising the raw materials processing with casting of preforms and fibre fabrication. The spectroscopic properties of tellurite and germanate glasses have been analysed with special emphasis on oscillator strength and radiative rate characteristics for visible, near IR and mid-IR emission. The review also compares the latest results in the engineering of lasers and amplifiers, based on fibres for optical communication and mid-IR. The achievements in the areas of near-IR waveguide and mid-IR bulk glass, fibre, and waveguide lasers are discussed. The latest landmark results in mode-locked 2 mu m bulk glass lasers sets the precedence for engineering nonlinear and other laser devices for accessing the inaccessible parts of the mid-IR spectrum and discovering new applications for the future. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.