Open AccessDemonstration of optical gain at 1550 nm in an Er3+-Yb3+ co-doped phosphate planar waveguide under commercial and convenient LED pumping
Author(s) -
Wenhui Fan,
Baoping Zhang,
Ce Wang,
Leiying Ying,
Xingchen Yang,
Zhaoqin Zhou,
Dan Zhang
Publication year - 2021
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.414847
Subject(s) - erbium , materials science , optical amplifier , waveguide , optics , ytterbium , laser , doping , optical pumping , optoelectronics , luminescence , ion , wavelength , phosphate glass , physics , quantum mechanics
A 980 nm semiconductor laser is always selected as the pump source for erbium-ytterbium co-doped optical waveguide amplifiers. In this work, two low-cost blue-violet LEDs, rather than an expensive 980 nm laser, were used to pump an Er 3+ -Yb 3+ co-doped phosphate planar waveguide. When the signal power was 0.4 mW at a 1550 nm wavelength, internal optical gains of about 4.1 and 4.5 dB/cm were respectively obtained under the excitations of a 32 mW/cm 2 , 275 nm LED and a 914 mW/cm 2 , 405 nm LED. It was found that 51.17% of the total Er 3+ ions in the 2 H 9/2 state contributed to the luminescence at 1550 nm, and a theoretical model of gain simulation was established under the excitation of a 405 nm LED. The calculated gain of about 4.1 dB/cm was found to be in accordance with the experimental optical gain results.