Carbon implanted waveguides in soda lime glass doped with Yb3+ and Er3+ for visible light emission

• Channel waveguides were fabricated by C2+ implantation in Er and Er–Yb: soda lime.
• The channels exhibit good confinement and both monomode and multimode behaviour.
• Anti-Stokes and Stokes emission in the visible range were obtained.
• The red to green intensity ratio changes when exciting in the UV and NIR.
• Yb–Er energy transfer is confirmed from the higher lifetimes in the codoped glass.

Channel waveguides were fabricated by carbon implantation in soda lime glass samples doped with Er3+ and Yb3+, exhibiting good confinement and both monomode and multimode behaviour at 633 nm. Excitation at near infrared (NIR) and ultraviolet (UV) spectral ranges were used in order to obtain anti-Stokes (upconversion) and Stokes (downshift) emission in the visible range, respectively. The characteristic green and red bands of Er3+ transitions were observed, showing the potential of Yb3+ and Er3+ co-doping for the generation of visible guided emission under NIR excitation.