Femtosecond laser direct inscription of 3D photonic devices in Er/Yb-doped oxyfluoride nano-glass ceramics

[EN]The fabrication of optical waveguides by direct femtosecond laser irradiation in Er3+/Yb3+ oxyfluoride nano-glass ceramics is investigated. Following the strategy of single line irradiation, a wide range of laser parameters can be used to obtain single-mode waveguides with nearly-gaussian modal...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Vázquez de Aldana, Javier R., Romero Vázquez, Carolina, Fernandez, Joaquín, Gorni, Giulio, Pascual, María Jesús, Durán Carrera, Alicia, Balda, Rolindes
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Salamanca (USAL)
Repositorio:GREDOS. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Salamanca
OAI Identifier:oai:gredos.usal.es:10366/146645
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10366/146645
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Erbium lasers
Femtosecond lasers
Laser irradiation
Laser ranging
Planar waveguides
Refractive index
Descripción
Sumario:[EN]The fabrication of optical waveguides by direct femtosecond laser irradiation in Er3+/Yb3+ oxyfluoride nano-glass ceramics is investigated. Following the strategy of single line irradiation, a wide range of laser parameters can be used to obtain single-mode waveguides with nearly-gaussian modal profiles, in the visible and near-infrared. Measured propagation loss is 1.6 dB/cm for the optimum parameters (0.34 μJ/pulse and 20 μm/s scanning velocity), with no annealing after irradiation, and the induced refractive index contrast is Δn∼0.006 (at 800 nm). The multi-scan technique is used to gain control of the refractive index profiles thus producing multimodal structures. The active behavior of the waveguides is induced under ∼800 nm seeding and the co-propagating guidance of the erbium emission is demonstrated. The integration of photonic elements such as Y-splitters, both in 2D and 3D, as well as Mach-Zehnder interferometers, is also shown. Results demonstrate the optimum behavior of Er3+/Yb3+ oxyfluoride nano-glass ceramics as a host material for the integration of complex active photonic devices by femtosecond laser irradiation in the low repetition rate regime.