Absorption and emission cross sections of Er^3+ in Al_2O_3 waveguides

Al(2)O(3) slab waveguide films were doped with erbium using ion implantation to a peak concentration of 1.5 at. %. Prism coupling measurements show absorption caused by (4)I (15/2) ?(4)I (13/2) intra-4f transitions in Er(3+) with a maximum at 1.530 mum of 8 dB/cm. The Er(3+) absorption cross section is determined as a function of wavelength. We used the McCumber theory to derive the emission cross section spectrum from the absorption results, which we then compared with the Er(3+) photoluminescence spectrum. The peak absorption and emission cross sections are found to be 6 x 10(-21) cm(-2). The results are used to predict the optical gain performance of an Er-doped Al(2)O(3) optical amplifier that operates around 1.5 mum.