Simulation and properties of Erbium-Doped Distributed Bragg Reflectors (ED-DBRs) and Fiber Bragg Gratings (ED-FBGs)

• Erbium doped planar distributed Bragg reflectors and fiber Bragg gratings are simulated.
• The potential to control the reflection by the external pump power is investigated.
• The erbium doped planar distributed Bragg reflectors is analyzed with a transmission line model.
• The erbium doped fiber Bragg grating is simulated using the coupled-mode theory.
• A potential use of the ED-FB, as an active sensor for a single interrogator system is proposed.

The structure of an active Erbium-Doped Distributed Bragg Reflector (ED-DBR) and a Fiber Bragg Grating (ED-FBG) is simulated using a rigorous transmission line model and an approximate version of the coupled-mode theory, respectively. The basic calculation steps and assumptions of the proposed simulation models are described and the key parameters that determine the devices’ reflection characteristics are in detail discussed. By applying the proposed transmission line model, numerical results are provided for both spectral reflectivity and transparency response for an active-slab DBR with increased erbium-ion concentration. In addition, using coupled-mode theory for the simulation of the cylindrical geometry of the ED-FBG device, the pump power-dependent reflection and transmission coefficients are obtained and their potential use in active sensor applications are discussed.