Fiber-to-fiber gain in Nd-doped aluminium oxide waveguide amplifiers

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Optoelectronics
• Photonics

Background:

• Neodymium-doped (Nd3+) materials are crucial for optical amplification.
• Developing compact and efficient waveguide amplifiers is essential for integrated photonics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate fiber-to-fiber gain in Al2O3:Nd3+ waveguide amplifiers.
• To characterize the performance of these amplifiers for potential integrated photonic applications.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of Al2O3:Nd3+ films using reactive sputtering.
• Optical pumping of a 5.5 cm waveguide amplifier at 805 nm using a bi-directional scheme.
• Measurement of external gain and noise figure at 1064 nm.

Main Results:

• Achieved a maximum external gain of 14.5 dB for an input signal power of -14.9 dBm.
• Measured a noise figure of 8.5 dB under optimal conditions.
• The amplifier performance was limited by the available pump power.

Conclusions:

• Al2O3:Nd3+ films are suitable for creating waveguide amplifiers.
• These results support the development of on-chip amplification for applications like biomedical imaging, spectroscopy, LiDAR, and quantum technologies.