Linear and Nonlinear Optical Properties of Si Nanoparticles/ Er-Ions Doped Optical Fiber

An alumino-germano-silica glass fiber doped with silicon nanoparticles and erbium ions was fabricated using the modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) method. Optical properties of the glass fiber were investigated using a Judd-Ofelt analysis. It was found that incorporating silicon nanoparticles with erbium ions did not alter Er-related optical properties of the silica glass fiber. The incorporation of silicon particles in a fiber core caused wide band absorption from 480 nm to 1200 nm. A third order optical nonlinearity of the Si-Er-doped alumino-germano-silica glass fiber was measured to be about 3.8 x 10-15m2/W.