Emission and gain characteristics of Er-doped multicomponent bismuthate channel waveguide

This paper reports on the preparation and the characteristics of Er-doped muliticomponent bismuthate channel waveguide. Dependence of emission lifetime of Er 3+ ions on concentration of Er 3+ ions is investigated. The concentration of Er 3+ in the core film where concentration quenching effect starts is one order of magnitude higher than that of silicate materials. We show that the lower the hydroxyl ion content is, the longer the emission lifetime becomes and the emission lifetime of dehydrated core is the same as that of the fiber perform, namely the same quantum efficiency. The loss of the fabricated channel waveguide measured by cut-back method is 0.15 dB/cm at 1310 nm. Net gain of 8 dB is obtained at 1530 nm by using a 6-cm long waveguide pumped at 980 nm.