On-chip Er-doped Ta₂O₅ waveguide amplifiers with a high internal net gain

We designed and fabricated a double-layered structure Er3+:Ta2O5 waveguide and investigated its optical amplification performance in C band. The pump laser threshold for zero gain at 1533nm was 2.5mW, and the internal net gain was ∼4.63 dB/cm for a lunched pump power of 36.1mW at 980nm and signal input power of -30.0dBm (1 μW). The relationship between the internal gain and the signal input power was also investigated, and a large internal net gain of 10.58 dB/cm was achieved at a signal input power of ∼-47.1 dBm. The results confirm the potentials of the use of Ta2O5 as a host material for optical waveguide amplification.