Fluorescence properties of sol-gel derived Er3+:SiO2GeO2 planar waveguides

Fluorescence of Er3+ ions embedded in sol-gel germanosilicates planar waveguides has been characterised. Green and infrared bands, centred at 0.551 and 1.534 μm for the 4S32 → 4I0152 and 4I132 → 4I152 Er3+ transitions, respectively, have been observed. The lifetime measurements of the 4I132 excited state (λ = 1.534 μm) were performed for different annealing temperatures, Er3+ ion concentration and compositions of SiO2GeO2 samples. For a 0.25-at%Er3+: SiO2GeO2 sample with a molar ratio SiGe = 1, the lifetime ranges from 1 to 5.2 ms when the annealing temperature varies from 500 to 1200°C. However, for the same erbium doping (0.25-at%Er3+) incorporated in a sample with a low germanium content, SiGe = 9, the lifetime reaches 6.5 ms for an annealing temperature of 1200°C. These lifetime variations are related to the presence of hydroxyl groups (OH−) which is found to be more important for samples containing a large amount of germanium.

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