Ultraviolet-light photosensitivity in Er(3+)-Ge-doped optical fiber

Light-induced refractive-index change in Er(3+)-Ge-doped optical fiber is reported for the first time to the authors' knowledge. Evidence of the change is observed when UV light (lambda = 249 nm) irradiates one arm of an unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer made from Er(3+)-Ge-doped fiber. Fr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inOptics letters Vol. 15; no. 20; p. 1138
Main Authors Bilodeau, F, Johnson, D C, Malo, B, Vineberg, K A, Hill, K O, Morse, T F, Kilian, A, Reinhart, L
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 15.10.1990
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Summary:Light-induced refractive-index change in Er(3+)-Ge-doped optical fiber is reported for the first time to the authors' knowledge. Evidence of the change is observed when UV light (lambda = 249 nm) irradiates one arm of an unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer made from Er(3+)-Ge-doped fiber. From a measurement of the change in the spectral response of the interferometer with UV exposure, the change in fiber core index as a function of wavelength is determined. The equilibrium change in core index is found to vary between 2.3 x 10(-5) and 3.7 x 10(-5) over the measured wavelength region of 800 to 1700 nm. Also for the first time to our knowledge, fused couplers made of Er(3+)-doped fiber are reported. These identical fiber couplers are used in a novel all-fiber unbalanced Mach-Zehnder interferometer.
ISSN:0146-9592
DOI:10.1364/OL.15.001138