Sensitivity to alcohols of a planar waveguide ring resonator fabricated by a sol-gel method

A planar waveguide ring resonator was fabricated by organic-inorganic hybrid sol-gel materials; its sensitivity to ethanol vapor was experimentally investigated. It was found that dips in the transmission spectrum of the device shifted to longer wavelengths with increasing the ethanol concentration, and its sensitivity showed a linear relation with the ethanol concentration, showing a coefficient of 1.13 pm/ppm. In addition, the transmission loss of the ring resonator decreased with increasing the ethanol concentration. The measured characteristics suggest that the device may be considered as one of the candidates of alcohol vapor sensors. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A planar waveguide Nd : YAG laser using active Q-switching of a hybrid unstable resonator

A planar waveguide laser operating in a negative branch unstable resonator is Q-switched by an acoustooptic mod latorin anew configuration, providing effective, high-speed switching. The laser using a 200-mu m Nd:YAG core, face pumped by 10 laser diode bars, has produced 100-W output in a good beam quality at 100-kHz pulse rate, and 4.5 mJ at lower frequency with 15-ns pulse duration.

Output beam quality of edge pumped planar waveguide lasers with confocal unstable resonators

Output beam quality of edge pumped planar waveguide lasers with confocal unstable resonators is investigated by diffraction methods, taking into account gain saturation, asymmetric pumping, and beam interaction. The influences of pumping uniformity, doping concentration, cavity length and effective Fresnel number are analyzed with respect to output beam quality and pumping efficiency. It is found that good beam quality and high efficiency can be obtained with asymmetric pumping and optimized negative branch confocal unstable resonators. (c) 2005 The Optical Society of Japan.

Quasi-self-imaging planar waveguide lasers with high-power single-mode output

We describe high-power planar waveguide laser which can achieve single-mode output from a multi-mode structure. The planar waveguide is constructed with incomplete self-imaging properties, by which the coupling loss of each guided mode can be discriminated. Thermal lens effects are evaluated for single-mode operation of such high-power diode-pumped solid-state lasers. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mode competition in acousto-optically Q-switched planar waveguide lasers

Multi-mode rate equations have been developed to investigate mode competition in high-power acousto-optically Q-switched planar waveguide lasers. The mode competition arises from coupling effects and temporal losses in the transform between guided modes and free-space propagation. Pulse-to-pulse instability and temporal beam distortions are enlarged by mode competition when the laser works in the multi-mode regime. The influence of parasitic oscillation is also discussed. A Nd:YAG planar waveguide laser has been established with a folded hybrid/unstable resonator. A maximum average power of 83 W with a beam propagation factor M-x(2) x M-y(2) = 1.2 x 1.4 is obtained. The theoretical simulation agrees well with the experimental observation. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High-power Nd:YAG planar waveguide laser with YAG and Al2O3 claddings

Thermal effects in Nd:YAG planar waveguide lasers with non-symmetrical claddings are discussed. The heat generated in the active core can be removed more efficiently by directly contacting the active core to the heat sink. Several cladding materials are compared to optimize the heat removal. Furthermore, uniform pumping is achieved with oblique edge-pumping technique. Using quasi-CW pumping at 1 KHz repetition rate, an average output power of 280 W with a slope efficiency of 38% is obtained with a positive unstable resonator. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of processing parameters on the optical properties of TiO2/ormosil planar waveguide

Hybrid TiO2/ormosil waveguiding films have been prepared by the sol-gel method at low thermal treatment temperature of 150° C. The influence of processing parameters including the molar ratios of titanium butoxide (Ti(OBu)(4))/3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GLYMO) and H2O/Ti(OBu)(4) (expressed as R), especially aging of sot on the optical properties was investigated. The optical properties of films were measured with scanning electron microscope (SEM), UV/VIS/NIR spectrophotometer (UV-Vis), m-line and the scattering-detection method. The results indicate that the film thickness increases with the increase of sol aging time, but the variation of refractive index as a function of sot aging time depends on the relative ratios of GLYMO to Ti(OBu)(4). Higher transmittance and lower attenuation of the planar waveguide can be obtained in the sol with lower Ti(OBu)(4) contents and shorter aging time.

Optical and surface properties of hybrid TiO2/ormosil planar waveguide prepared by the sol-gel process

Two kinds of silanes, 3-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GLYMO) and 3-trimethoxysililpropylmethacrylate (TMSPM), were used to prepare ormosil waveguide films by the sol-gel method. Thirty percent Ti(OBu)(4) and 70% silane were contained in the precursor sets. The properties of films were measured by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV/VIS/NIR spectrophotometer (UV-vis), atomic force microscopy (AFM), m-line and scattering-detection method. The films from GLYMO and TMSPM precursors exhibit similar thickness (2.58 mu m for GLYMO, 2.51 mu m for TMSPM) and refractive index (1.5438 for GLYMO, 1.5392 for TMSPM, lambda=632.8 nm), but the film from TMSPM precursor has higher propagation loss (1.024 dB/cm, lambda=632.8 nm) than the film prepared from GLYMO (0.569 dB/cm, lambda=632.8 nm). Furthermore, the film prepared from TMSPM is easy to be opaque and cracks during coating whereas the same phenomenon was not found for the film prepared with GLYMO. It is confirmed that GLYMO is a better precursor than TMSPM for waveguide film preparation. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.

Low-loss planar and stripe waveguides in Nd3+-doped silicate glass produced by oxygen-ion implantation

We report on the fabrication and characterization of low-loss planar and stripe waveguides in a Nd3+-doped glass by 6 MeV oxygen-ion implantation at a dose of 1x10(15) ions/cm(2). The dark mode spectroscopy of the planar waveguide was measured using a prism coupling arrangement. The refractive index profile of the planar waveguide was reconstructed from a code based on the reflectivity calculation method. The results indicate that a refractive index enhanced region as well as an optical barrier have been created after the ion beam processing. The near-field mode profiles of the stripe waveguide were obtained by an end-fire coupling arrangement, by which three quasitransverse electric modes were observed. After annealing, the propagation losses of the planar and stripe waveguides were reduced to be similar to 0.5 and similar to 1.8 dB/cm, respectively. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Ridge optical waveguide in an Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped phosphate glass produced by He+ ion implantation combined with Ar+ ion beam etching

This paper reports on the fabrication and characterization of a ridge optical waveguide in an Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped phosphate glass. The He+ ion implantation (at energy of 2.8 MeV) is first applied onto the sample to produce a planar waveguide substrate, and then Ar+ ion beam etching (at energy of 500 eV) is carried out to construct rib stripes on the sample surface that has been deposited by a specially designed photoresist mask. According to a reconstructed refractive index profile of the waveguide cross section, the modal distribution of the waveguide is simulated by applying a computer code based on the beam propagation method, which shows reasonable agreement with the experimentally observed waveguide mode by using the end-face coupling method. Simulation of the incident He ions at 2.8 MeV penetrating into the Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped phosphate glass substrate is also performed to provide helpful information on waveguide formation.

Low loss waveguide in Nd3+-doped silicate glass fabricated by carbon ion implantation

Low loss index enhanced planar waveguides in Nd3+-doped silicate glass were fabricated by 3.0 MeV C+ ion implantation. The enhancement of the refractive index confined the light propagating in the waveguide. The prism-coupling method was used to measure dark modes in the waveguide. The effective refractive indices of the waveguide were obtained based on the dark modes. The moving fiber method was applied to measure the waveguide propagation loss. Loss measured in non-annealed samples is about 0.6 dB/cm. And the waveguide mode optical near-field output at 633 nm was presented. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

溶胶-凝胶光波导环形谐振腔的挥发性有机化合物传感特性

采用溶胶-凝胶法制作波导环形谐振腔, 讨论了环形谐振腔器件的传输特性。测量了在不同物质、不同体积分数的挥发性有机化合物(VOC)蒸气气氛下器件的传输光谱的敏感性。结果表明, 谐振波长随甲醇、乙醇、丙醇等醇类化合物, 以及丙酮、甲醛等蒸气体积分数的上升而向长波方向移动, 具有高的灵敏度, 且两者基本呈线性关系。其中, 对丙醇最敏感, 灵敏度达到1.403 pm/10-6。对甲烷和二甲苯也有微弱反应, 但是其灵敏度很低。也测量了水蒸气对传输谱特性的影响。观察到传输谱衬比度对不同挥发性有机化合物物质蒸气的不同敏

低损耗有机无机混合溶胶凝胶波导的实验研究

利用有机无机混合的溶胶凝胶方法在硅基底上制备波导薄膜．采用正硅酸四乙酯和苯基三乙氧基硅烷作为反应先驱物，利用旋涂的方法成膜，对其折射率，传输损耗以及条形波导的光刻、刻蚀特性进行了研究．测量了波导薄膜折射率随成分变化的关系．实验表明，该方法工艺简单，可以获得具有较低损耗的波导薄膜．测试得到632．8nm波段的损耗系数为0．23dB／cm．采用ICP刻蚀工艺获得了较为平整的条形波导．

掺铒磷酸盐玻璃离子交换波导表面保护的研究

对离子交换波导制备过程中掺铒磷酸盐玻璃表面的侵蚀问题进行了研究，分析了产生侵蚀的原因，提出镀K9玻璃薄膜的方法，对掺铒磷酸盐玻璃表面进行保护．采用光学显微镜和原子力显微镜对波导表面特性进行了表征。同时对平板波导的光学特性进行了测试．研究表明K9玻璃薄膜不仅能够对掺铒磷酸盐玻璃起到保护作用，同时允许交换离子透过进入磷酸盐玻璃形成波导层．

K9玻璃薄膜对离子交换磷酸盐玻璃波导表面保护的优化研究

采用镀K9玻璃薄膜方法来解决离子交换掺铒磷酸盐玻璃波导表面的侵蚀问题,对K9玻璃薄膜的厚度进行了优化研究。测量分析了样品的荧光光谱和荧光寿命,采用光学显微镜和棱镜耦合技术对不同K9玻璃薄膜厚度下制备波导的表面形貌和导光特性进行了表征和测试。结果表明,与掺铒磷酸盐玻璃原材料相比,镀K9玻璃薄膜后荧光光谱保持不变,荧光寿命稍有下降(约0.2 ms);K9玻璃薄膜的厚度在60~80 nm的范围内保护效果最佳。为下一步制备掺铒有源玻璃光波导器件奠定了良好的实验基础。