Active optical fibers doped with ceramic nanocrystals

Abstract

Erbium-doped active optical fiber was successfully prepared by incorporation of ceramic nanocrystals inside a core of optical fiber. Modified chemical vapor deposition was combined with solution-doping approach to preparing preform. Instead of inorganic salts erbium-doped yttrium-aluminium garnet nanocrystals were used in the solution-doping process. Prepared preform was drawn into single-mode optical fiber with a numerical aperture 0.167. Optical and luminescence properties of the fiber were analyzed. Lasing ability of prepared fiber was proofed in a fiber-ring set-up. Optimal laser properties were achieved for a fiber length of 20~m. The slope efficiency of the fiber-laser was about 15%. Presented method can be simply extended to the deposition of other ceramic nanomaterials.