Oxygen-implanted optical planar waveguides in Er3+/Yb3+-codoped silicate glasses for integrated laser generation

Abstract

Er 3+ /Yb 3+ -codoped silicate glasses are good candidates for the application of laser actions and signal amplification. Optical planar waveguides in Er 3+ /Yb 3+ -codoped silicate glasses are fabricated by 6.0-MeV oxygen-ion implantation with a dose of 6.0×10 14 ions/cm 2 at room temperature. The SRIM 2010 code is carried out to simulate the energy losses during the implantation process in order to obtain a better understanding of the waveguide formation. The guiding modes and near-field intensity distributions of the waveguide are characterized by the prism-coupling and end-face coupling methods. The refractive index profile and light propagation mode of the planar waveguide are numerically calculated by the reflectivity calculation method and finite difference beam propagation method. The waveguide has a “well+barrier ” refractive index distribution and its optical loss is ∼1.02 dB/cm . The microluminescence and absorption investigation reveal that fluorescent and transmission properties in the waveguide are well preserved with respect to the bulk, suggesting promising potential for waveguide amplifiers and lasers.