Spectroscopy of Er3+ in Zn-diffused LiNbO3 waveguides

In this work, the spectroscopic properties of Er3+ ions in Zn-diffused lithium niobate waveguides are investigated. Experiments under CW excitation reveal that the dominant emissions of the Er3+ ions in the waveguide retain the polarisation characteristics observed in bulk samples. The temporal evolution of these emission bands has been also analysed, in this case under pulsed excitation. It has been found that Zn-diffusion does not induce appreciable changes in the lifetimes. Thus. the spectroscopic analysis indicates that the Zn-diffusion waveguide fabrication technique preserves the spectroscopic properties of the Er3+ ions, therefore being an adequate technique for photonic applications. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.