Abstract
This work reports on the properties of luminescent waveguides based on quaternary Ga-Ge-Sb-Se amorphous thin films doped with praseodymium. The waveguides were fabricated via magnetron co-sputtering, followed by inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching. The initial thin film thickness and optical properties were assessed and the spectroscopic properties of the waveguides were measured. The measurements show promising results-it is possible to obtain mid-infrared fluorescence at 2.5 and 4.5 µm by injecting near-infrared light at 1.5 µm as the pump beam. By comparing waveguides with various praseodymium concentrations, the optimal doping content for maximum fluorescence intensity was identified to be close to 4100 ppmw. Finally, correlation between the intensity of mid-infrared emission and the width/length of the waveguide is shown.
Highlights
IntroductionThe main reasons are their low phonon energies [1,2], high linear and nonlinear refractive indices [3,4] with relatively high transmittance extending well into the middle wavelength infrared (MWIR) spectral region [5], the possibility to deposit them as thin films with relative ease [6,7,8,9], and the solubility of rare earths within them [10,11]
Amorphous chalcogenides based on germanium are under deep investigation as host materials for infrared applications
The chalcogenide thin films RF co-sputtering allowed the concentration of rare earth ions to be varied without having to modify the composition of the film, which remains very close, as can be seen in table 1, to the composition of the three targets: Ga5.2Ge19.9Sb9.6Se65.3 for the Pr3+:GaGeSbSe glass target and Ga5.0Ge20.0Sb9.6Se65.4 (r0.5%) for the undoped targets
Summary
The main reasons are their low phonon energies [1,2], high linear and nonlinear refractive indices [3,4] with relatively high transmittance extending well into the middle wavelength infrared (MWIR) spectral region [5], the possibility to deposit them as thin films with relative ease [6,7,8,9], and the solubility of rare earths within them [10,11] The use of these optically active materials enables the manufacturing of performant waveguides and other photonic devices operating in the near to long wavelength infrared (NWIR-to-LWIR) range. The simulations in the work of Palma et al [24] provide encouraging results for the operation of praseodymium-doped chalcogenide microdisk resonators designed for emission at 4.7 μm, with the possibility of reaching higher slope efficiencies than with other rare earths, such as erbium These studies paved the way for the development and fabrication of optical sensors and amplifiers with a large array of potential uses, from environmental monitoring to biomedical applications. It is necessary to provide a more complete description of such devices to maximize their performances
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