Proton-implanted optical waveguides fabricated in Er3+-doped phosphate glasses

Er3+-doped phosphate glass is suitable to design and develop integrated photonic structures. Ion implantation is one of the most promising fabrication techniques for producing optical waveguides. In this work, we have combined Er3+-doped phosphate glass and ion implantation in order to improve the performances of waveguides. The proton-implanted Er3+-doped phosphate glass waveguides have been fabricated under implantation parameters with energies of (500 +550) keV and fluences of (1.0 + 2.0) × 1016 ions/cm2. The guiding properties of the planar waveguide have been investigated at the wavelength of 632.8 nm through the prism-coupling system and the end-face coupling arrangement. Irradiation-induced damage and refractive index modulation have been simulated by the stopping and range of ions in matter 2010 and the intensity calculation method, respectively. It is an important step to the fabrication of rare-earth-doped optical integrated devices.