Characterization of Er3+-doped fluoride glass ceramics waveguides containing LaF3 nanocrystals

Highly Er3+-doped fluoride glass ceramics planar waveguides containing LaF3 nanocrystals have been fabricated by physical vapor deposition (PVD). The solubility of Er3+ in the segregated nanocrystals can reach 30 mol% which is much larger than the value found in LaF3-oxide glass ceramics. A quantitative analysis of the photoluminescence of the 1.54 μm emission band of Er3+ ions has demonstrated that erbium ions are partitioned in both crystals and vitreous phase. The short lifetime (2.2 ms) measured for erbium incorporated in LaF3 crystal lattice is a consequence of concentration quenching while the lifetime is close to 10 ms in the glassy phase. The emission bandwidth has been found to be greater than that of the precursor glass (71 nm at the half-height width). The high Er3+ concentration and spectral width could make this nanostructured fluoride material suitable for planar amplifier in the C telecommunication band.