Open AccessYtterbium-doped fibers fabricated with atomic layer deposition method
Author(s) -
Joan J. Montiel i Ponsoda,
Lars Norin,
Changgeng Ye,
Markus Bosund,
Mikko Söderlund,
Ari Tervonen,
Seppo Honkanen
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.20.025085
Subject(s) - materials science , photodarkening , ytterbium , chemical vapor deposition , doping , atomic layer deposition , fiber , fabrication , optical fiber , optics , deposition (geology) , layer (electronics) , fiber laser , optoelectronics , composite material , medicine , paleontology , alternative medicine , physics , pathology , sediment , biology
We report on a new fabrication method of producing ytterbium doped fibers by atomic layer deposition (ALD) in combination with the conventional modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) technique. An MCVD soot-preform with a porous layer of SiO(2) is coated with layers of Yb(2)O(3) and Al(2)O(3) prior to sintering, using the gas-phase ALD method. An SEM/EDS material analysis study shows that the dopants successfully penetrate the full thickness of 320 µm of the soot layer. An Yb-doped fiber fabricated by this technique shows a background attenuation of 20 dB/km, a uniform longitudinal Yb-doping profile, and good laser characteristics with a slope efficiency of 80%. Furthermore, we present a comparison in terms of photodarkening between the MCVD-ALD fiber and a solution doped fiber, fabricated with the same MCVD recipe. The new MCVD-ALD fiber appears to be more photodarkening resistant.