Spectroscopy of Er3+ in Zn-diffused LiNbO3 waveguides

In this work, the spectroscopic properties of Er3+ ions in Zn-diffused lith ium niobate waveguides are investigated. Experiments under CW excitation re veal that the dominant emissions of the Er3+ ions in the waveguide retain t he polarisation characteristics observed in bulk samples. The temporal evol ution of these emission bands has been also analysed, in this case under pu lsed excitation. It has been found that Zn-diffusion does not induce apprec iable changes in the lifetimes. Thus. the spectroscopic analysis indicates that the Zn-diffusion waveguide fabrication technique preserves the spectro scopic properties of the Er3+ ions, therefore being an adequate technique f or photonic applications. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserve d.