A numerical analysis of gain characteristics of Er-doped Al2O3 waveguide amplifiers

Abstract

The gain characteristics of erbium-doped Al2O3 waveguide amplifiers are investigated by solving numerically rate equations with upconversion effects and propagation equations. We obtained the dependence of gain of erbium-doped Al2O3 waveguide amplifiers on the waveguide length, erbium concentration and pump power at different pumping wavelengths (980 and 1480 nm). The performance of amplifiers pumping at 1480 and 980 nm are compared. It is shown that 980 nm pumping has higher gain and higher pumping efficiency. The parameters of waveguide amplifiers have been optimized. A optical gain of 43 dB can be achieved for a optimum waveguide length of 8.25 cm and 5.8 × 1020 cm−3 Er concentration pumped with 100 mW at 980 nm, that is a gain of 5.2 dB/cm.