Coefficient determination related to optical gain in erbium-doped silicon-rich silicon oxide waveguide amplifier

Gain-determining coefficients in Er-doped, nanocrystal-Si (nc-Si) sensitized silica waveguide amplifiers are investigated. Single-mode, Er-doped silica waveguides with nc-Si embedded in them were prepared by electron cyclotron resonance plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of Er-doped a-Si:O-x (x<2) followed by a high-temperature anneal to precipitate nc-Si. Exciting the Er ions via nc-Si by pumping the waveguide from the top with the 477 nm line of an Ar laser resulted in an enhancement of the transmitted 1535 nm signal of up to 14 dB/cm, indicating a possible net gain of up to 7 dB/cm. From the dependence of the signal enhancement upon the pump power, an emission cross section of 2x10(-19) cm(2) at 1535 nm and an effective excitation cross section of greater than or equal to10(-17) cm(2) at 477 nm is obtained. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.