Fabrication Of Er³⁺: PLZT Optical Waveguide By Sol-Gel Process

With the rapid development of optical fiber communication and integrated optics, the EDWA that can amplify and compensate optical signal in 1.55μm have attracted pepole's extensive attention. And as the core of EDWA, the research of Er³⁺-doped optical waveguide film whose properties can affect the optical characteristics of EDWA has important meaning. In this thesis, as the matrix material for Er³⁺-doped, PLZT was adopted, and series sol and gel film of Er³⁺:PLZT which have good photosensitivity were obtained by sol-gel method. Utilize the photosensitivity, the gel film was irradiated with UV light through a mask, and then channel waveguide was fabricated. The details are listed as follows:In this paper, Stable and transparent Er³⁺:PLZT sol was got with lead acetate, tetrabutoxy titanate, zirconium oxynitrate, lanthanum nitrate,and erbium nitrate as Precursors, acetylacetone and acrylic acid as modifier. When Er³⁺ content was 6mol%, the refractive index of Er³⁺:PLZT film was 2.16 after annealed at 650℃for 30min, and the transmissions were all above 83% at 0.85μm, 1.31μm and 1.55μm in which wavelengths fiber communication have lowest loss.Gel film of Er³⁺:PLZT has good photosensitivity; and its channel waveguide of 230nm was obtained. Research shows that the absorption spectrum of Er³⁺:PLZT has a absorption peak in 540nm, corresponding to the wavelength of photon which was absorbed when ⁴I_15/2â†'⁴S_3/2.Besides, in order to attain the least thickness that waveguide must have to be when used in practice, DMF was adopted to modify Er³⁺:PLZT sol, and the thickness of channel waveguide was increased up to 430nm. After modification, the transmission at 1.31μm and 1.55μm were respectively increased to 4% and 2%. The absorption spectrum of Er³⁺:PLZT/DMF have absorption peaks in 522nm, 620nm, 816nm respectively, corresponding to the wavelengths of photon which were absorbed when ⁴I_15/2â†'²H_11/2,⁴F_9/2, ⁴I_9/2.