Waveguide laser film in erbium-doped KTiOPO4 by pulsed laser deposition

Abstract

Erbium doping into potassium titanyl phosphate (KTiOPO4 or KTP) was performed by pulsed laser deposition. Waveguide laser film in Er-doped KTiOPO4 was formed using both KTiOPO4 and erbium as targets and optically polished KTiOPO4 as a substrate. Rutherford backscattering, photoluminescence spectrometry, x-ray diffraction, and prism coupling method are used to investigate the properties of Er-doped KTiOPO4. The results show that (1) Er-doped KTiOPO4 emits the characteristic photoluminescence of Er3+ around 1.54 μm corresponding to transition between the I13/24 and I15/24 manifolds of the Er3+ ions in KTiOPO4 host. (2) two bright modes in Er-doped KTiOPO4 were observed. This approach may be useful for direct fabrication of thin film waveguide laser for other optoelectrical materials.