Si0_2–SnO_2glass-ceramic planar waveguides activated byrare earth ions

摘要

) doped (100-x) Si02 – x SnO_2(x = 8, 16 and 25 mol %) glass-ceramic waveguides were fabricated by sol-geltechnique with dip-coating processing at 800 °C. Higher thermal treatments led to the formation and growth of Sn0_2nanocrystals in the matrix, enhancing the 5D0 7F2 emission of Eu3+. Spectroscopic investigations reveal the evolutionof a centro-symmetric local environment around the Eu~(3+) ion. This property of glass-ceramic waveguides can beexploited for obtaining a higher rare-earth concentration in a smaller volume. The glass-ceramic waveguides exhibitedlow-losses (0.8 ± 0.2 dB/cm at 632.8 nm) and thus are promising for the development of high-gain integrated opticalamplifiers.