Er3+-doped germanate glasses for active waveguides prepared by Ag+/K+↔ Na+ ion-exchange

Abstract Planar waveguides were prepared by Ag + /K + ↔ Na + ion-exchange on Er +3 -doped GeO 2 –ZnO–Na 2 O–Li 2 O glasses obtained by a melting–casting method. Optical parameters of the waveguides were measured at 543.5, 632.8, and 1550 nm by m-line technique as a function of the Ag + ion-exchange time. The optimized planar waveguides show an effective diffusion depth ( d ) of 2.95 μm and well confined propagating TE 0 and TM 0 modes at 1550 nm. Spectroscopic properties as photoluminescence emission and emission decay time were evaluated for the erbium-doped planar waveguide, indicating that Ag + ↔ Na + ion-exchange enhance the photoluminescence emissions in the green and infrared regions from erbium ions. The glass system studied is promising to be applied as optical amplifiers in the C-telecom band. Green emission sensitized by Ag + was also observed.