Rib waveguide dye-doped polymer amplifier with up to 26dB optical gain at 625nm

We report optical signal amplification in a solid-state dye-doped polymer with a rib waveguide structure. A 625nm pulsed signal and a collinear 575nm pump are coupled into a 1μm×120μm poly(methyl methacrylate) waveguide doped with 1% by weight Rhodamine 640 dye. Depending on the signal intensity, a maximum optical gain in the 21–26dB range is obtained from a 1.2-cm-long device, accompanied by a signal-to-noise ratio in the 9–16dB range.