Open AccessWaveguide amplifiers in sputtered films of Er3+-doped gallium lanthanum sulfide glass
Author(s) -
Jesse A. Frantz,
L. Brandon Shaw,
J.S. Sanghera,
Ishwar D. Aggarwal
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.14.001797
Subject(s) - materials science , chalcogenide glass , doping , gallium , sputter deposition , waveguide , optoelectronics , optics , lanthanum , amplifier , dopant , erbium , optical amplifier , sputtering , chalcogenide , thin film , laser , nanotechnology , inorganic chemistry , chemistry , physics , cmos , metallurgy
Waveguide amplifiers fabricated in Er3+-doped gallium lanthanum sulfide (GLS) glass are demonstrated. GLS is deposited onto fused silica substrates by RF magnetron sputtering, and waveguides are patterned by use of the lift-off technique. The waveguides exhibit a total internal gain of 6.7 dB (2.8 dB/cm) for a signal with a wavelength of 1.55 mum. This experiment is, to the best of our knowledge, the first demonstration of gain in an Er3+-doped chalcogenide glass waveguide. The fabrication methods we apply, if used with other rare earth dopants, could potentially be employed to produce sources operating in the mid-IR.