Benefit of Rare-Earth "Smart Doping" and Material Nanostructuring for the Next Generation of Er-Doped Fibers.
Erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) for harsh environments require to develop specific fabrication methods of Er3+-doped fibers (EDFs) so as to limit the impact of radiation-induced absorption. In this context, a compromise has to be found between the concentration of Erbium and the glass composition. On the one hand, high concentration of Er3+ions helps to reduce the length of the EDF and hence the cumulated attenuation but generally leads to luminescence quenching mechanisms that limit the performances. On the other hand, so as to avoid such quenching effect, glass modifiers like Al3+or P5+ions are used in the fabrication of commercial EDFs but are not suitable for applications in harsh environment because these glass modifiers are precursors of radiation-induced structural defects and consequently of optical losses. In this work, we investigate the concept of smart doping via material nanostructuring as a way to fabricate more efficient optical devices. This approach aims at optimizing the glass composition of the fiber core in order to use the minimal content of glass modifiers needed to reach the suited level of performances for EDFA. Er3+-doped alumina nanoparticles (NPs), as precursor of Er3+ions in the preform fabrication process, were used to control the environment of rare-earth ions and their optical properties. Structural and optical characterizations of NP-doped preforms and optical fibers drawn from such preforms demonstrate the interest of this approach for small concentrations of aluminum in comparison to similar glass compositions obtained by a conventional technique.
Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8523, PhLAM - Physique des Lasers Atomes et Molécules, Lille, F-59000, France.
Inna
I
Savelii
Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8523, PhLAM - Physique des Lasers Atomes et Molécules, Lille, F-59000, France. laurent.bigot@univ-lille1.fr.
Laurent
L
Bigot
Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8523, PhLAM - Physique des Lasers Atomes et Molécules, Lille, F-59000, France.
Bruno
B
Capoen
Prysmian Group, Z.I. Artois Flandres - Zone C, Billy Berclau, F-62092, France.
Cedric
C
Gonnet
Sorbonne Universités - UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Collège de France, UMR 7574, Laboratoire de Chimie de la Matière Condensée de Paris, 4 place Jussieu, Paris Cedex 05, F-75252, France.
Corinne
C
Chanéac
Present address: Saint-Gobain Recherche, 39 quai Lucien Lefranc, Aubervilliers Cedex, 93303, France.
Ekaterina
E
Burova
Prysmian Group, Z.I. Artois Flandres - Zone C, Billy Berclau, F-62092, France.
Alain
A
Pastouret
Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8523, PhLAM - Physique des Lasers Atomes et Molécules, Lille, F-59000, France.
Hicham
H
El-Hamzaoui
Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8523, PhLAM - Physique des Lasers Atomes et Molécules, Lille, F-59000, France.
Mohamed
M
Bouazaoui
Erbium-doped optical fiber amplifier; Material nanostructuring; Oxide nanoparticles; Photoluminescence