Phase control in glass-composite for three-dimensional active waveguide with broadband response

Abstract

Broadband optical amplification is crucially important for expanding the transmission capacity of optical communication system and resolving the issue of internet traffic. A major challenge is the development of broadband gain materials. Herein, a heterogeneity engineering strategy is proposed for constructing all-inorganic transparent composite with tunable and ultrabroadband luminescence. The composite is characterized by the glass matrix homogeneously embedded with highly dense nanocrystalline domains with the optimal crystallinity of ∼63.7%. Notably, the formation dynamics and phase configuration of the composite can be controlled. As a result, the interesting optical response with tunable and ultrabroadband near-infrared luminescence from 1000 to 1800 nm can be realized. In addition, the embedded high density crystalline domains gift the composite with the excellent antilaser damage behavior and three-dimensional smooth active waveguide can be directly written by using femtosecond laser. This unique feature allows the creation of the integrated waveguide array device and the potential for broadband optical amplification is demonstrated. Results suggest that the proposed heterogeneity engineering strategy can not only be extended for exploitation of active composite system, but also development of three-dimensional broadband photonic devices with high integration level.