Abstract

Rare-earth-doped glass waveguides are suitable for the fabrication of stable and low-threshold lasers in both the visible and infrared regions.¹ We have investigated potassium, silver, and cesium ion-exchange to produce neodymium- and erbium-doped glass channel waveguides. We studied two configurations. In the first configuration, the waveguides were produced in a commercially available rare-earth-doped substrate. In the second, a waveguide was made in an undoped glass. Then, it was spin coated with a rare-earth-doped phosphate layer. Channel waveguides with different dimensions were produced, and the propagation losses as well as the absorption and emission spectra of these waveguides were determined.

© 1990 Optical Society of America