Optimization of BGO Er/Yb doped pedestal waveguide amplifiers with Si nanostructures

Abstract

In this work we review the recent advances in pedestal waveguide amplifier fabrication. The improvement of conventional photolithography and plasma etching methods brings advantages that benefit light guiding and reduce propagation losses, mainly in the 3rd telecommunication windows (λ~1550 nm). Yb3+/Er3+ codoped Bi2O3-GeO2 thin films, with and without Si nanostructures, are obtained by RF Magnetron sputtering deposition and are used as core layer of 500 nm height in the pedestal waveguides. Choosing an appropriate amount of these silicon nanostructures inside the rare-earth waveguides we achieve pump light scattering and at the same time very little scattering at the signal wavelength. The overall effect is again enhancement of 50% thus opening possibilities for potential applications in integrated optics.