This research introduces tellurium oxide (TeO2) glass doped with optically active erbium
ions (Er3+) as an active oxide cladding material for silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguides
for realization of a silicon-based erbium-doped waveguide amplifier (EDWA) for
integrated optics. Optical amplification of this nature is enabled by energy transitions,
such as stimulated absorption and emission, within the shielded 4f shell of the rare-earth
atomic structure caused by excitation from photons incident on the system. Er3+ ions
are doped into the TeO2 film during deposition onto the SOI waveguides using a reactive
magnetron co-sputtering system operated by McMaster’s Centre for Emerging Device
Technologies (CEDT). Prior to fabrication, the waveguides are designed using photonic
CAD software packages, for optimization of the modal behaviour in the device, and Matlab,
for characterization of the optical gain performance through numerical analysis of
the rate and propagation equations of the Er3+-based energy system. Post fabrication,
the waveguide loss and gain of the coated devices are experimentally measured. The
fabricated waveguide amplifier produces a peak signal enhancement of 3.84 dB at 1533
nm wavelength for a 1.7 cm-long waveguide device. High measured waveguide losses (>
10 dB/cm) produce a negative internal net gain per unit length. However, the demonstration
and implementation of an active rare-earth doped cladding material on a silicon
waveguide is successful, which is a major step in developing integrated optical amplifiers
for conventional silicon photonics platforms. / Thesis / Master of Applied Science (MASc)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/25803 |
| Date | January 2020 |
| Creators | Naraine, Cameron |
| Contributors | Bradley, Jonathan, Knights, Andrew, Engineering Physics |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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