High-gain optical amplification in Eu3+-doped polymer

Europium (Eu3+)-doped epoxy-based resin Norland optical adhesive (NOA) polymers have been prepared and characterized optically. Quartz capillary tube encapsulated Eu3+-doped NOA polymeric waveguides have been fabricated via a simple withdrawal molding technique. Optical amplification at 612 nm wavelength has been demonstrated in these waveguide devices, and the signal enhancements for different lengths of the devices have been measured. A maximum signal enhancement of similar to 30 dB has been obtained for a 16 mm long device. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America