High-gain polymer optical waveguide amplifiers based on core-shell NaYF4/NaLuF4: Yb3+, Er3+ NPs-PMMA covalent-linking nanocomposites

Abstract

Waveguide amplifiers have always been significant key components for optical communication. Unfortunately, the low concentration of rare earth ions doped in the host material and the inadequate optimization of the waveguide structure have been the common bottleneck limitations. Here, a novel material, NaYF4/NaLuF4: 20% Yb3+, 2% Er3+ nanoparticle-Polymeric Methyl Methacrylate covalent-linking nanocomposite, was synthesized. The concentrations of Er3+ and Yb3+ doping increased an order of magnitude. Under a 980 nm laser excitation, highly efficient emission at 1.53 μm was obtained. The characteristic parameters of the single mode waveguide were carefully designed and optimized by using a finite difference method. A formulized iteration method is presented for solving the rate equations and the propagation equations of the EYCDWA, and both the steady state behavior and the gain were numerically simulated. The optimal Er3+ and Yb3+ concentrations are 2.8 × 1026 m−3 and 2.8 × 1027 m−3, and the optimal waveguide length is 1.3 cm. Both theoretical and experimental results indicated that, for an input signal power of 0.1 mW and a pump power of 400 mW, a net gain of 15.1 dB at 1530 nm is demonstrated. This result is the highest gain ever reported in polymer-based waveguide amplifiers doped with inorganic Er3+-Yb3+ codoped nanocrystals.

Synthesis and Application in Anticounterfeiting of RGB Upconversion Nanoparticles

“…Lanthanide-doped nanoparticles (NPs) have been widely used in many fields due to sharp emission peaks, stable chemical properties, and a long fluorescence lifetime, such as optical waveguide amplifiers, biomarkers, bioimaging, and three-dimensional display [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. In recent years, lanthanide-doped NPs have shown great application prospects in anticounterfeiting applications [8][9][10].…”

Erbium-Doped Polymer Waveguide Amplifiers for Board-Level Optical Interconnects

“…Whilst erbium-doped fibre amplifiers (EDFAs) have dominated long-haul optical links [13], no practical equivalent erbium-doped waveguide amplifier (EDWA) has been demonstrated for PCB-based optical interconnects. Various host materials and doping approaches have been studied and some encouraging results have been reported in recent years [14]- [16], but a PCB-compatible EDWA with high-gain and power-efficiency is still to be demonstrated. In order to reach the required erbium concentrations for few-centimetre-long devices with minimal ion clustering and gain quenching, different fabrication techniques have been investigated, such as atomic layer deposition [17] and liquid phase epitaxy [18] with some encouraging results.…”

Synthesis of Small Ce3+-Er3+-Yb3+ Tri-Doped BaLuF5 Active-Core-Active-Shell-Active-Shell Nanoparticles with Strong Down Conversion Luminescence at 1.5 μm

“…In particular, Er 3+ -doped fluoride NPs have been applied in waveguide amplifiers [13,14,15,16] since intra-4f-shell transitions of Er 3+ ions not only cause visible light emissions but also send an emission at 1.5 μm (the 4 I 13/2 → 4 I 15/2 transition of Er 3+ ions), which is located in low loss windows of optical communication networks. In order to get high-gain Er 3+ -doped waveguide amplifiers, Er 3+ -doped fluoride NPs should not only have a strong down-conversion luminescence at 1.5 μm, but also have a small size.…”