Selective area rare-earth doping of planar glass samples for monolithic integration of optically passive and active waveguides

Successful demonstration of selective area doping of planar glass samples for monolithic integration of optically passive and active devices on a single chip is presented. Salt solution of erbium was delivered onto pre-sintered germano-silicate samples via a syringe. The samples were then consolidated to form dense glass layers containing regions doped with rare earth. Erbium tri-chloride solution, 0.1 M, was used during the solution doping phase, with the resulting erbium atomic percentage ranging from more than 0.1–0.4%, increasing linearly with the number of drips applied.