Er3+-doped BaY2F8 crystal waveguides for broadband optical amplification at 1.5 mu m

Integrated waveguide amplifiers based on high concentration Er3+ doped BaY2F8 crystals are numerically studied by combining a full-vectorial finite element based modal analysis and propagation-rate equations. Using realistic input data, such as the absorption/emission cross sections and Er level lifetimes measured on grown crystal samples, we investigate the amplifier performance by optimizing the total Er concentration. We predict optimum gain coefficient up to 5 dB/cm and broad amplification bandwidth exceeding 80 nm with 1480 nm pumping. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.