Er-Al-codoped silicate planar light waveguide-type amplifier fabricated by radio-frequency sputtering

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Optoelectronics
• Photonics

Background:

• Optical amplifiers are crucial for signal transmission in telecommunications.
• Erbium-doped materials are widely used for optical amplification due to their 1.5-micron emission.
• Planar waveguides offer advantages in miniaturization and integration.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and fabricate a planar waveguide-type optical amplifier.
• To investigate the performance of Er-Al-codoped silica glass as a gain medium.
• To achieve efficient optical gain at telecom wavelengths.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a planar waveguide using radio-frequency (rf) sputtering.
• Deposition of an Er-Al-codoped SiO2 core layer onto a silica cladding layer.
• Characterization of optical gain using a 980-nm pump laser and a 1546-nm input signal.

Main Results:

• Successful fabrication of the planar waveguide optical amplifier.
• Achieved a net optical gain of 5 dB.
• Demonstrated gain with 20 mW of 980-nm pump power and -20 dBm input signal power.
• Optimized Er and Al concentrations in the core layer (0.77 wt.% Er, 11.37 wt.% Al).

Conclusions:

• The designed planar waveguide optical amplifier is effective for signal amplification.
• Er-Al-codoped silica glass is a suitable material for waveguide amplifiers.
• The results show potential for integrated optical amplification applications.