Erbium doped fluoride glass–ceramics waveguides fabricated by PVD

• Published in: Journal of non-crystalline solids Vol. 354; no. 30; pp. 3586 - 3591
• Main Authors: Péron, O., Boulard, B., Jestin, Y., Ferrari, M., Duverger-Arfuso, C., Kodjikian, S., Gao, Y.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 15.07.2008; Elsevier
• Subjects: Amorphous materials, glasses and other disordered solids; Chemical Sciences; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Exact sciences and technology; Fabrication. Testing and measurement of fiber parameters; Fiber optics; Fluorides; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Glass–ceramics; Infra-red properties; Luminescence; Optical properties and condensed-matter spectroscopy and other interactions of matter with particles and radiation; Optics; Photoluminescence; Physics; Planar waveguides; Glass–ceramics; 78.66.−w; Luminescence; 78.55.−m; Infra-red properties; 81.15.Ef; Planar waveguides; Fluorides; 61.43.Fs; 78.55.-m; 78.66.-w; Crystallization; Photoluminescence; XRD; Optical waveguides; Fabrication; Energy-level transitions; Lifetime; Transmission electron microscopy; Physical vapor deposition; Glass-ceramics; Chemical composition; Fluoride glass; Glass ceramics; Nanocrystal
• ISSN: 0022-3093; 1873-4812
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jnoncrysol.2008.03.049

Transparent amorphous and glass–ceramics waveguides in the system ZrF 4–LaF 3–ErF 3–AlF 3 (ZELA) have been fabricated by physical vapor deposition (PVD). The ceramming process was studied by means of X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy for different deposition temperatures. With increasing deposition temperature, formation of La x Er 1− x F 3 nanocrystals with x ∼ 0.3 was observed. The decay curves of the 4I 13/2 level in the glass–ceramics with 14.5 mol% Er 3+ gave evidence of the presence of erbium both in the amorphous matrix ( τ = 8.6 ms) and in the crystal phase ( τ = 2.2 ms). The decrease of lifetime was due to clustering of erbium incorporated in LaF 3 crystal lattice. No significant increase of attenuation loss was detected after waveguide cerammization (1.3 dB/cm at 1304 nm).