Integrated optical devices in rare-earth-doped glass

Integrated-optical devices in rare-earth-doped glasses have emerged as an attractive new technology on the threshold of wide-scale manufacturing and commercial insertion. These devices can be used both as laser oscillators and optical amplifiers. They have been formed by a number of fabrication methods including ion exchange and thin-film deposition. Active integrated-optical devices are expected to be important elements in future optical fiber networks. Rare-earth-doped optical fiber devices provide nearly perfect amplification of signals in optical fibers. The performance of these rare-earth-doped optical fibers is so promising that researchers started investigating whether similar performance could be achieved in planar waveguides. The combination of passive integrated-optical components and rare-earth ions has produced many devices with impressive performance.