Co-sputtered Pr 3+ -doped Ga-Ge-Sb-Se active waveguides for mid-infrared operation
Résumé
This work reports on the properties of luminescent waveguides based on quaternary GaGe -Sb-Se amorphous thin films doped with praseodymium. The waveguides were fabricated via magnetron co-sputtering followed by inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching. The initial thin films thickness and optical properties were assessed and the spectroscopic properties of the waveguides were measured. The measurements show promising results-it is possible to obtain midinfrared fluorescence at 2.5 and 4.5 µm by injecting near infrared light at 1.5 µm as the pump beam. By comparing waveguides with various praseodymium concentrations, the optimal doping content for maximum fluorescence intensity was identified to be close to 4100 ppmw. Finally, correlation between the intensity of mid-infrared emission and the width/length of the waveguide is shown.