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Spectroscopic characteristics of Er-doped LiNbO3

Spectroscopic characteristics of Er-doped LiNbO3
Spectroscopic characteristics of Er-doped LiNbO3
Er-doped LiNbO3 has recently been strongly pursued as an integrated laser source at 1550nm due to the potential offered by the host material for electro-optic, acousto-optic and non-linear interactions, and several devices have been demonstrated for advanced laser applications. To fully exploit this laser system, it is important to know the spectral characteristics of the dopant-host combination and to quantify the radiative and nonradiative transitions between different excited levels in order to be able to predict and optimise the device performance. For example, it is well known that pumping Er-doped devices at 980nm provides high efficiencies (in dB/mW) and signal-to-noise ratios. However, the Er:LiNbO3 devices demonstrated thus far have been pumped at 1480nm, due to the problems associated with photorefractive damage and upconversion at 980nm. Recent results in Nd:LiNbO3 have shown that the photorefractive damage at near IR wavelengths can be suppressed sufficiently to allow laser operation. Furthermore, recent investigations using XSW have revealed that Er3+ ions in LiNbO3 are located in an octahedral position close to a Li site, thus allowing the incorporation of high concentrations of Er3+ in this host material without fluorescence quenching. This leads to the belief that the upconversion at 980nm is due to a resonant two stage ESA process involving a single erbium ion. In this paper we present a Judd-Ofelt analysis of Er3+ ions in LiNbO3 using measured line-strengths of 10 transitions from the ground state to excited state manifolds, and use these line strengths to evaluate ESA transition strengths from the 4 I 13/2 and 4 I 9/2 levels. Measured oscillator strengths at 300K are compared with calculated electric and magnetic dipole oscillator strengths and the results are found to be within the typical uncertainties associated with these types of calculations. Measured and calculated lifetimes will be compared and used to deduce the quantum efficiencies of the various excited levels. Upconversion at 980nm will be discussed in the light of these results.
Amin, J.
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Dussardier, B.
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Schweizer, T.
1b183bb4-c89d-42bf-81e0-b2e2b9af2635
Hempstead, M.
1bc4f2eb-fba7-46b8-b0c6-199f586b9954
Wilkinson, J.S.
73483cf3-d9f2-4688-9b09-1c84257884ca
Amin, J.
25fe4de1-d795-495c-99e8-7fbb8ce06818
Dussardier, B.
8aa34331-69c0-42c6-8de7-b7ed18af8de5
Schweizer, T.
1b183bb4-c89d-42bf-81e0-b2e2b9af2635
Hempstead, M.
1bc4f2eb-fba7-46b8-b0c6-199f586b9954
Wilkinson, J.S.
73483cf3-d9f2-4688-9b09-1c84257884ca

Amin, J., Dussardier, B., Schweizer, T., Hempstead, M. and Wilkinson, J.S. (1995) Spectroscopic characteristics of Er-doped LiNbO3. Quantum Electronics Conference (QE12), Southampton, United Kingdom. 04 - 08 Sep 1995. 1 pp .

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Poster)

Abstract

Er-doped LiNbO3 has recently been strongly pursued as an integrated laser source at 1550nm due to the potential offered by the host material for electro-optic, acousto-optic and non-linear interactions, and several devices have been demonstrated for advanced laser applications. To fully exploit this laser system, it is important to know the spectral characteristics of the dopant-host combination and to quantify the radiative and nonradiative transitions between different excited levels in order to be able to predict and optimise the device performance. For example, it is well known that pumping Er-doped devices at 980nm provides high efficiencies (in dB/mW) and signal-to-noise ratios. However, the Er:LiNbO3 devices demonstrated thus far have been pumped at 1480nm, due to the problems associated with photorefractive damage and upconversion at 980nm. Recent results in Nd:LiNbO3 have shown that the photorefractive damage at near IR wavelengths can be suppressed sufficiently to allow laser operation. Furthermore, recent investigations using XSW have revealed that Er3+ ions in LiNbO3 are located in an octahedral position close to a Li site, thus allowing the incorporation of high concentrations of Er3+ in this host material without fluorescence quenching. This leads to the belief that the upconversion at 980nm is due to a resonant two stage ESA process involving a single erbium ion. In this paper we present a Judd-Ofelt analysis of Er3+ ions in LiNbO3 using measured line-strengths of 10 transitions from the ground state to excited state manifolds, and use these line strengths to evaluate ESA transition strengths from the 4 I 13/2 and 4 I 9/2 levels. Measured oscillator strengths at 300K are compared with calculated electric and magnetic dipole oscillator strengths and the results are found to be within the typical uncertainties associated with these types of calculations. Measured and calculated lifetimes will be compared and used to deduce the quantum efficiencies of the various excited levels. Upconversion at 980nm will be discussed in the light of these results.

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More information

e-pub ahead of print date: September 1995
Additional Information: Poster P1-32
Venue - Dates: Quantum Electronics Conference (QE12), Southampton, United Kingdom, 1995-09-04 - 1995-09-08
Organisations: Electronics & Computer Science

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 76961
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/76961
PURE UUID: 934e7075-5893-4669-83be-a0a5244e29d7
ORCID for J.S. Wilkinson: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4712-1697

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Date deposited: 11 Mar 2010
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:32

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Contributors

Author: J. Amin
Author: B. Dussardier
Author: T. Schweizer
Author: M. Hempstead
Author: J.S. Wilkinson ORCID iD

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