First demonstration of a laser emission in hybrid nanostructured optical fibres based on SiO2/SnO2 system doped by ytterbium ions

摘要

Recent years, researches have shown that it is possible to achieve nanostructured core fibres by incorporating dielectric [1,2], metallic nanoparticles such as Au, or quantum dots [3] in an amorphous matrix. These nanoparticles dispersed in a silica matrix present the advantage to accept a high concentration of doping ions such as rare-earth (RE) ions avoiding the quenching phenomenon, which allows to demonstrate a great potential in optical amplification. Zirconia nanoparticles have been successfully incorporated by G. Brasse et al. with the sol-gel method [1] and by Kir'Yanov et al. using the Modified Chemical Vapor Deposition (MCVD) [2]. The laser effect has been demonstrated in this Yb doped optical fibre. The incorporation of semiconductor nanoparticles in the core of the optical fibre is a challenge to get original optical properties such as original wavelength emission. Tin oxide appears as an interesting candidate due to its low phonon energy (700 cm−1) and its high refractive index (1.99 at 632nm). Moreover, energy transfer can be observed in this kind of nanoparticles doped with rare earth ions, which leads to original luminescence [4,5].