Er3+–Yb3+ co-doped glass waveguide amplifiers using ion exchange and field-assisted annealing

Er3+–Yb3+ co-doped waveguide amplifiers fabricated using thermal two-step ion-exchange are demonstrated. K+–Na+ ion-exchange process was first carried out in pure KNO3 molten bath, and then field-assisted annealing (FAA) was used to make the buried waveguides. The effective buried depth is estimated to be ∼3.4 μm for the buried FAA waveguides. With the use of cut-back method, the fiber-to-guide coupling loss of ∼4.38 dB, the waveguide loss of ∼2.27 dB/cm, and Er3+ absorption loss ∼5.7 dB were measured for a ∼1.24-cm-long waveguide. Peak relative gain of ∼7.0 dB is obtained for a ∼1.24-cm-long waveguide. The potential for the fabrication of compact optical amplifiers operating in the range of 1520–1580 nm is also demonstrated.