Modeling of Er3+ doped SiO2 - TiO2 planar amplifier

The feasibility of high gain planar waveguide amplifiers, made by Er-doped, silica-titania SiO2 - TiO2 thin films on silica SiO2 glass substrate, is proved by means of an on purpose developed computer code. The computer code implemented for simulation is based on a complete model, which takes into account the secondary transitions pertaining to the ion-ion interactions, the pump and signal propagation, and the ASE. In the small signal operation, a gain close to 4.7 dB is theoretically demonstrated for a waveguide of 5 cm length, by using a pump power of 200 mW. A first set of waveguiding samples is fabricated and characterized.