FINITE-ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF SINGLE-FREQUENCY SILICA-BASED ER3+-YB3+ CO-DOPED WAVE-GUIDE LASERS

Continuous wave laser operations of silica-based Er3+-Yb3+ co-doped waveguides have been numerically analyzed by means of a finite-element method. The theoretical model, based on propagation-rate equations, describes uniform upconversion by a dipole-dipole interaction between Er3+ ions, and includes a pair-indeed energy transfer process from Yb3+-Er3+. Numerical results show that single-frequency operation with slope efficiency higher than 50% and threshold pump powers of few mW can be achieved in short and heavily doped waveguides equipped with input dielectric mirrors and output distributed Bragg reflectors.