Selective co-doped erbium Ti:LiNbO 3 waveguide amplifiers

Abstract

The aim of this work was to demonstrate the fabrication and characterization of erbium-doped optical waveguide amplifiers in X-cut Y-propagating lithium niobate (LiNbO 3 ) by erbium (Er) and titanium (Ti) co-diffusion. Optical small-signal internal gains up to +0.6 dB/cm at 1531 nm were measured for the transverse electric (TE) and magnetic (TM) modes by optical pumping at 1488 nm with a coupled optical pump power of 95 mW in four different optical waveguide amplifier lengths. The Er and Ti co-diffusion process has shown adequate internal gain efficiency in dB/mW and a beneficial path for the development of LiNbO 3 -based integrated optical devices.