Ceramization of erbium activated planar waveguides by bottom up technique

Silica-hafnia glass-ceramics waveguides activated by Er3+ ions were fabricated by the bottom up technique. Hafnia nanocrystals were first prepared by colloidal route and then mixed in a silica-hafnia:Er3+ sol. The resulting sol was deposited by dip coating on a silica substrate. Optical spectroscopy showed that after incorporation of the nanocrystal in a glassy waveguide and an adapted heat treatment, erbium ions tends to migrate toward hafnia nanocrystals. Analysis of the luminescence properties has demonstrated that erbium ions are, at least partially, trapped in a crystalline phase. Losses measurements at different wavelengths highlight a very low attenuation coefficient indicating that this nanostructured material is suitable for a single band waveguide amplifier in the C band of telecommunication.