Waveguide formation by ion implantation in Er doped optical materials

Abstract

High energy medium-light ion implantation was applied on both z-cut Er:LiNbO3 and Er3+–Yb3+ co-doped phosphate glasses, in order to fabricate optical waveguides on optically amplifying media.Preliminary results obtained with Er:LiNbO3, implanted with 3.9MeV Carbon ions, have demonstrated the possibility to fabricate good quality waveguides, the optical characteristics of which depend on implantation fluence and post-annealing process. Er3+–Yb3+ co-doped phosphate glass substrates were implanted with both 2.8MeV Carbon ions, at fluences ranging from 3×1014ions/cm2 to 1×1015ions/cm2, and with 3.4MeV Oxygen ions at a fluence of 1×1015ions/cm2. Also in this case, planar optical waveguides were formed, but, under the as-reported implantation conditions, the possibility to tailor the refractive index profiles was very reduced. In this work, the optical properties of the integrated optical waveguides obtained on different doped substrates are examined.