Erbium localised doping into various cuts of lithium niobate and sapphire: a comparative study

摘要

Medium temperature (350°C) localised doping of Er~(3+) was studied in lithium niobate (LN) and sapphire single crystal wafers that were cut in various crystallographic directions. It was found that the efficiency of the doping was connected with orientations of the substrate wafers of both LN and sapphire, and with the presence of mobile lithium ions in the structure of LN. The basic interstitial mechanism of erbium incorporation into the structure of sapphire and LN is in the latter accompanied with erbium for lithium ion exchange. While the rate of the interstitial diffusion was higher in the wafers oriented perpendicularly towards the cleavage planes of the crystals, ion exchange process was significant in the wafers cut in cleavage planes. Waveguiding properties in erbium doped lithium niobate originated rather from presence of erbium in the structure of the crystals than being a consequence of a weak proton exchange. Luminescence properties of the fabricated samples are also presented.