Title :
Optical amplification in thin optical waveguides with high Er concentration
Author :
Federighi, Marco ; Massarek, Ilana ; Trwoga, Philip F.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Electron. Eng., Univ. Coll. London, UK
Abstract :
The fabrication of compact active optical waveguides requires high concentrations of rare-earth ions. In highly doped materials the optical gain is affected by cross-relaxation and up-conversion processes. By solving the rate equations for the levels involved in radiative transitions, the optical gain is obtained as a function of the dopant concentration in the case of Er-doped silica pumped at 980 nm. The performance of channel waveguides from the same material is analyzed; in particular, the dependence on Er concentration of threshold pump power and amplifier gain is discussed.<>
Keywords :
erbium; optical films; optical pumping; optical waveguides; silicon compounds; solid lasers; 980 nm; Er-doped silica; IR; amplifier gain; channel waveguides; cross-relaxation; dopant concentration; fabrication of compact active optical waveguides; high Er concentration; highly doped materials; optical amplification; optical gain; optical pumping; radiative transitions; rare-earth ions; rate equations; thin optical waveguides; threshold pump power; up-conversion processes; waveguide fabrication; Equations; Erbium; Optical device fabrication; Optical materials; Optical pumping; Optical waveguide components; Optical waveguides; Particle beam optics; Silicon compounds; Stimulated emission;
Journal_Title :
Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE
