Absorption measurements on silver bromide crystals and fibers in the infrared J. Appl. Phys. 113, 043111 (2013) Continuous wave ultraviolet-laser sintering of ZnO and TiO2 nanoparticle thin films at low laser powers J. Appl. Phys. 113, 044310 (2013) Controlling laser emission by selecting crystal orientation Appl. Phys. Lett. 102, 011137 (2013) Impact of wavelength dependent thermo-elastic laser ablation mechanism on the generation of nanoparticles from thin gold films Appl. Phys. Lett. 101, 263107 (2012) Apparatus to measure adsorption of condensable solvents on technical surfaces by photothermal deflection Rev. Sci. Instrum. 83, 114905 (2012) Additional information on J. Appl. Phys. We have investigated waveguide writing in Er-Yb doped zinc polyphosphate glass using a femtosecond laser with a repetition rate of 1 KHz. We find that fabrication of good waveguides requires a glass composition with an O/P ratio of 3.25. The dependence on laser writing parameters including laser fluence, focusing conditions, and scan speed is reported. Waveguide properties together with absorption and emission data indicate that these glasses can be used for the fabrication of compact, high gain amplifying devices. V C 2012 American Institute of Physics.[http://dx