RARE-EARTH ORGANIC-COMPLEXES FOR AMPLIFICATION IN POLYMER OPTICAL FIBERS AND WAVE-GUIDES

The optical properties of rare-earth organic complexes have been studi ed because of their possible application to polymer optical fibers and waveguides. Er3+, Nd3+, and Sm3+ ions are encapsulated in tetrakis(be nzoyltrifluoroacetonate) and tetrakis(dibenzoylmethide) chelates, and their radiative properties are evaluated in several organic solvents. Analysis reveals that tetrakis(benzoyltrifluoroacetonate) chelates are promising dopants for use in rare-earth-doped polymer devices. These rare-earth complexes can be doped to high concentrations in polymer sy stems without quenching, providing the means for short-length amplific ation devices. Numerical simulations reveal that gains as high as and exceeding 20 dB should be realizable in rare-earth-doped polymer fiber amplifiers having lengths < 60 cm. Similar calculations reveal thresh old pump powers of tens of milliwatts for rare-earth-doped polymer fib er lasers. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America.