Optical properties of the O³⁺-ion implanted and femtosecond-laser ablated ridge waveguide in the Er³⁺-doped germanate glass

Abstract

Er3+-doped germanate glass is a kind of polyfunctional material for optical and photonic applications. The work reports on the preparation and properties of O3+-ion implanted and femtosecond-laser ablated Er3+-doped germanate glass optical ridge waveguide. The energy is 6.0 MeV and the fluence is 5×1014 ions/cm2 for the O3+-ion implantation. The pulse energy and the scanning speed of the femtosecond-laser ablation are 3 μJ and 50 μm/s, respectively. The SRIM 2013 is used to calculate the vacancy profile induced by the implantation in the Er3+-doped germanate glass for the physical mechanisms of the waveguide formation. The optical microscopy images of the cross-section of the waveguide are captured by the Nikon microscope. The light-guiding properties of the ion-implanted and laser-ablated waveguides are studied by the end-face coupling system. The ridge waveguide has been produced by combining the FS ablation with ion implantation technologies for the first time in the Er3+-doped germanate glass. The propagation of light field indicates that it has the potential for photonics applications based on the planar and ridge Er3+-doped germanate glass waveguides.