Er ³⁺ glass waveguide amplifier at 1.5 μm on silicon

Highly Er3+-doped sodium calcium silicate glass waveguide was fabricated on oxidised silicon wafers. An Er3+ absorption of 8.5 dB/cm was measured at 1.5 μm, whereas transmission loss outside the Er3+ absorption band was estimated to be ~1 dB/cm. By pumping the waveguide with 120 mW of power at 975 nm the 1.53 μm signal intensity was enhanced by 21 dB.