Modal properties of an Erbium-doped asymmetric single-mode slab waveguide in the glass-ceramics SnO 2 -SiO 2 system

We investigate the modal properties (effective index and modal gain) of an active, Erbium-doped single-mode slab waveguide made of silica tin-dioxide glass-ceramics on Silica. Completed with a photo-inscribed Bragg grating, such a structure is a good candidate for realizing an optically pumped laser emitter. For total Erbium concentration of 9.84 × 10−4 mol/cm3 and a cross-section (for stimulated transitions) of σ ≈ 2 × 10−25 m2 in a discussed structure, the maximum achievable material gain in DFB with Quarter-Wave phase Shift (QWS-DFB) is σ Ntot ≈ 23 m−1. Taking into account the confinement factor, the maximum achievable modal gain, in complex amplitude, over the length of 10 mm is at about (αmaxL) ≈ 0.09.