Leaky mode suppression in planar optical waveguides written in Er:TeO2–WO3 glass and CaF2 crystal via double energy implantation with MeV N+ ions

Abstract Ion implantation proved to be an universal technique for producing waveguides in most optical materials. Tellurite glasses are good hosts of rare-earth elements for the development of fibre and integrated optical amplifiers and lasers covering all the main telecommunication bands. Er3+-doped tellurite glasses are good candidates for the fabrication of broadband amplifiers in wavelength division multiplexing around 1.55 μm, as they exhibit large stimulated cross sections and broad emission bandwidth. Calcium fluoride is an excellent optical material, due to its perfect optical characteristics from UV wavelengths up to near IR. It has become a promising laser host material (doped with rare earth elements). Ion implantation was also applied to optical waveguide fabrication in CaF2 and other halide crystals. In the present work first single-energy implantations at 3.5 MeV at various fluences were applied. Waveguide operation up to 1.5 μm was observed in Er:Te glass, and up to 980 nm in CaF2. Then double-energy implantations at a fixed upper energy of 3.5 MeV and lower energies between 2.5 and 3.2 MeV were performed to suppress leaky modes by increasing barrier width.