Abstract

Erbium (Er)-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) has achieved great success in modern optical communications for decades due to its outstanding gain performance in C-band. Nowadays, people are making efforts to make it monolithic integration due to the imperious demands from the advancement of high-performance and multi-function optoelectronic devices and chips. Except for the Er-doped waveguide amplifier, the other ion-doped on-chip waveguide amplifiers have also attracted much attention for multi-band optical communications, since they have own advantages in gain, bandwidth, selectivity of host materials, and integrability. Herein, we review the transmission characteristics of ion-doped on-chip waveguide amplifiers including gain and bandwidth, combining with the emission mechanisms and fabrication processes in applications of long-haul and short-reach optical communications. To facilitate the practical progress of the integrated waveguide amplifiers, from the perspective of gain medium, we also discuss the challenges and potential solutions for future technology roadmap. We expect that the bismuth (Bi)-doped waveguide amplifier would present impressive advantages in multi-band optical communications.

(S + C)-band polymer waveguide amplifier based on Tm³⁺ and Er³⁺ layer-doped core-shell nanoparticles

Yuewu Fu, Tonghe Sun, Jun Li, Ying Tang, Yu Yang, Siliang Tao, Fei Wang, Daming Zhang, Guanshi Qin, Zhixu Jia, Dan Zhao, and Weiping Qin
Opt. Lett. 48(2) 391-394 (2023)

High on-chip gain spiral Al₂O₃:Er³⁺ waveguide amplifiers

D. B. Bonneville, C. E. Osornio-Martinez, M. Dijkstra, and S. M. García-Blanco
Opt. Express 32(9) 15527-15536 (2024)

Thulium-doped tellurium oxide waveguide amplifier with 7.6 dB net gain on a silicon nitride chip

Khadijeh Miarabbas Kiani, Henry C. Frankis, Hamidu M. Mbonde, Richard Mateman, Arne Leinse, Andrew P. Knights, and Jonathan D. B. Bradley
Opt. Lett. 44(23) 5788-5791 (2019)

Enhancement of 1.53 μm emission band in NaYF₄:Er³⁺,Yb³⁺,Ce³⁺ nanocrystals for polymer-based optical waveguide amplifiers

Xuesong Zhai, Jie Li, Shusen Liu, Xinyang Liu, Dan Zhao, Fei Wang, Daming Zhang, Guanshi Qin, and Weiping Qin
Opt. Mater. Express 3(2) 270-277 (2013)

Gain enhancement technique for S-band polymer-based waveguide amplifiers

Yuewu Fu, Tonghe Sun, Jun Li, Ying Tang, Yu Yang, Siliang Tao, Jing Yin, Fei Wang, Daming Zhang, Guanshi Qin, Xunsi Wang, Dan Zhao, and Weiping Qin
Opt. Express 31(9) 14140-14148 (2023)