Open AccessErbium-ytterbium co-doped aluminium oxide waveguide amplifiers fabricated by reactive co-sputtering and wet chemical etching
Author(s) -
Dawson B. Bonneville,
Henry C. Frankis,
Renjie Wang,
Jonathan D. B. Bradley
Publication year - 2020
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.402802
Subject(s) - materials science , erbium , ytterbium , reactive ion etching , deep reactive ion etching , etching (microfabrication) , optics , waveguide , scanning electron microscope , sputtering , optical amplifier , optoelectronics , laser , doping , thin film , nanotechnology , layer (electronics) , physics , composite material
We report on the fabrication and optical characterization of erbium-ytterbium co-doped aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 :Er 3+ :Yb 3+ ) waveguides using low-cost, low-temperature deposition and etching steps. We deposited Al 2 O 3 :Er 3+ :Yb 3+ films using reactive co-sputtering, with Er 3+ and Yb 3+ ion concentrations ranging from 1.4-1.6 × 10 20 and 0.9-2.1 × 10 20 ions/cm 3 , respectively. We etched ridge waveguides in 85% pure phosphoric acid at 60°C, allowing for structures with minimal polarization sensitivity and acceptable bend radius suitable for optical amplifiers and avoiding alternative etching chemistries which use hazardous gases. Scanning-electron-microscopy (SEM) and profilometry were used to assess the etch depth, sidewall roughness, and facet profile of the waveguides. The Al 2 O 3 :Er 3+ :Yb 3+ films exhibit a background loss as low as 0.2 ± 0.1 dB/cm and the waveguide loss after structuring is determined to be 0.5 ± 0.3 dB/cm at 1640 nm. Internal net gain of 4.3 ± 0.9 dB is demonstrated at 1533 nm for a 3.0 cm long waveguide when pumped at 970 nm. The material system is promising moving forward for compact Er-Yb co-doped waveguide amplifiers and lasers on a low-cost silicon wafer-scale platform.