Fabrication and characterization of Er+3 doped SiO2/SnO2 glass-ceramic thin films for planar waveguide applications

Glass-ceramics are a kind of two-phase materials constituted by nanocrystals embedded in a glass matrix and the respective volume fractions of crystalline and amorphous phase determine the properties of the glass-ceramics. Among these properties transparency is crucial in particular when confined structures, such as, dielectric optical waveguides, are considered. Moreover, the segregation of dopant rare-earth ions, like erbium, in low phonon energy crystalline medium makes these structures more promising in the development of waveguide amplifiers. Here we are proposing a new class of low phonon energy tin oxide semiconductor medium doped silicate based planar waveguides. Er3+ doped (100-x) SiO2- xSnO2 (x= 10, 20, 25 and 30mol%), glass-ceramic planar waveguide thin films were fabricated by a simple sol-gel processing and dip coating technique. XRD and HRTEM studies indicates the glass-ceramic phase of the film and the dispersion of ~4nm diameter of tin oxide nanocrystals in the amorphous phase of silica. The spectroscopic assessment indicates the distribution of the dopant erbium ions in the crystalline medium of tin oxide. The observed low losses, 0.5±0.2 dB/cm, at 1.54 ?m communication wavelength makes them a quite promising material for the development of high gain integrated optical amplifiers.