Optical properties of Er3+-doped tungsten tellurite glass waveguides by Ag+–Na+ ion-exchange

Abstract The planar waveguides of 12Na2O · 35WO3 · 53TeO2 · 1Er2O3 glass (in mol%) were prepared by Ag+–Na+ ion-exchange at 300–360 °C for 5–30 h. The effective mode indices and propagation losses of the waveguides were measured at the wavelengths of 473, 632.8, 983.1 and 1548 nm by means of a prism coupler technique. The waveguide depths from glass surface increased with increasing ion-exchange temperature and time. The diffusion parameters such as diffusion coefficient and activation energy were calculated on the basis of an Arrhenius temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficient of Ag+ ions in the ion-exchanged glasses. The propagation losses of the waveguides were 5.04–6.64, 2.70–4.77, 5.44–6.73 and 7.32–8.31 dB/cm in the first half in the propagation distance from 0 to 3.0 cm and 3.52–4.82, 1.92–2.99, 3.78–5.06 and 3.91–5.15 dB/cm in the latter half at 473, 632.8, 983.1 and 1548 nm, respectively. The relationship between the optical properties of the waveguides and the ion-exchange conditions is discussed.