Low-loss optical Er3+-activated glass-ceramics planar waveguides fabricated by bottom-up approach

A low-loss optical erbium activated silica-hafnia glass-ceramic planar waveguide was fabricated using a bottom-up approach. Hafnia nanoparticles were first prepared by colloidal route and then mixed in a silica-hafnia:Er3+ sol. The resulting sol was deposited on SiO2 substrate. Analysis of the photoluminescence has demonstrated that erbium ions are embedded in a crystalline phase. A lifetime enhancement of the 4I13/2 metastable level was observed. Losses measurements at 1542 nm highlight a very low attenuation coefficient (0.3 dB/cm) making this nanostructured material suitable for single band waveguide amplifier in the C band of telecommunications.