1.3 μm light amplification in dye-doped hybrid sol-gel channel waveguides

We report on light amplification of dye-doped hybrid channel waveguides in the near-infrared region. Films have been grown both on glass and silicon substrates by a spin-coating process that uses a hybrid organic/inorganic sol-gel route. Doped films have been obtained by incorporation of an organic dye (IR1051) emitting in the 1.1-1.3 mum spectral region. Active channel waveguides have been synthesized by photolitographic and ion-milling techniques. An optical gain of about 11 cm(-1) was estimated by amplified spontaneous emission measurements. An estimation of the optical losses of the hybrid waveguides is also reported. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.