Optical Amplification at 1064 nm in Nd(TTA) 3(TPPO) 2 Complex Doped SU-8 Polymer Waveguide

Nd(TTA)
₃
(TPPO)
₂
complex (HTTA: 2-thenoyltrifluoroacetone, TPPO: triphenylphosphine oxide) doped SU-8 polymer waveguide amplifiers were demonstrated. The absorption and photoluminescence spectra were observed on a 100-μm-thick film of the Nd(TTA)
₃
(TPPO)
₂
complex doped SU-8 polymer. Under excitation at 808 nm, the fluorescence was obtained at 904 nm, 1068 nm, and 1346 nm wavelengths. The full-width at half-maximum bandwidth was about 25 nm wide around 1068 nm. Using reactive ion etching technology, optical waveguides were fabricated by taking the Nd(TTA)
₃
(TPPO)
₂
complex doped SU-8 polymer and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) material as the core and cladding layers, respectively. According to fundamental rate equations and optical power propagation equations, the gain characteristic of the polymer waveguide amplifier was simulated to be 5.1 dB/cm. An experimental setup for the optical gain measurement was established. A relative optical gain of about 2.4 dB/cm at 1064 nm was obtained in a 20-mm-long multimode waveguide for an input signal power value of 0.1 mW and pump power of 140 mW.