Modeling of optical amplifier waveguide based on silicon nanostructures and rare earth ions doped silica matrix gain media by a finite-difference time-domain method: comparison of achievable gain with Er3+ or Nd3+ ions dopants

Julien Cardin; Alexandre Fafin; Christian Dufour; Fabrice Gourbilleau

doi:10.1117/12.2077611

16 March 2015 Modeling of optical amplifier waveguide based on silicon nanostructures and rare earth ions doped silica matrix gain media by a finite-difference time-domain method: comparison of achievable gain with Er³⁺ or Nd³⁺ ions dopants

Julien Cardin, Alexandre Fafin, Christian Dufour, Fabrice Gourbilleau

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 9357, Physics and Simulation of Optoelectronic Devices XXIII; 935709 (2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2077611
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2015, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

A comparative study of the gain achievement is performed in a waveguide optical amplifier whose active layer is constituted by a silica matrix containing silicon nanograins acting as sensitizer of either neodymium ions (Nd³⁺) or erbium ions (Er³⁺). Due to the large difference between population levels characteristic times (ms) and finite-difference time step (10⁻¹⁷s), the conventional auxiliary differential equation and finite-difference time-domain (ADE-FDTD) method is not appropriate to treat such systems. Consequently, a new two loops algorithm based on ADE-FDTD method is presented in order to model this waveguide optical amplifier. We investigate the steady states regime of both rare earth ions and silicon nanograins levels populations as well as the electromagnetic field for different pumping powers ranging from 1 to 10⁴ mW/mm² . Furthermore, the three dimensional distribution of achievable gain per unit length has been estimated in this pumping range. The Nd³⁺ doped waveguide shows a higher gross gain per unit length at 1064 nm (up to 30 dB/cm^-1) than the one with Er³⁺ doped active layer at 1532 nm (up to 2 dB/cm^-1). Considering the experimental background losses found on those waveguides we demonstrate that a significant positive net gain can only be achieved with the Nd³⁺ doped waveguide. The developed algorithm is stable and applicable to optical gain materials with emitters having a wide range of characteristic lifetimes.

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Julien Cardin, Alexandre Fafin, Christian Dufour, and Fabrice Gourbilleau "Modeling of optical amplifier waveguide based on silicon nanostructures and rare earth ions doped silica matrix gain media by a finite-difference time-domain method: comparison of achievable gain with Er³⁺ or Nd³⁺ ions dopants", Proc. SPIE 9357, Physics and Simulation of Optoelectronic Devices XXIII, 935709 (16 March 2015); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2077611

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KEYWORDS

Ions

Waveguides

Silicon

Erbium

Neodymium

Silica

Absorption

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