Two-photon-resonant photoinduced second-harmonic generation in Er(3+)-doped germano-aluminosilicate optical fibers...

The growth of a two-photon-resonant photoinduced second-harmonic signal at 660 nm in Er(3+)-doped GeO(2)-Al(2)O(3)-SiO(2) single-mode optical fibers pumped by a Nd:YAG laser at 1.319 microm is reported. Defect states in the band gap are optically excited through a resonant two-photon absorption process connecting the (4)I(15/2)-(4)F(9/2) energy levels of the erbium ions present in the fiber core. As a result a periodic X((2)) grating is formed, and efficient second-harmonic generation takes place. For erbium-free GeO(2)-doped silica test fibers no second-harmonic signal has been detected, even after hours of seeded preparation process.