Low Loss Nanostructured Polymers for Chip-scale Waveguide Amplifiers
Abstract On-chip waveguide amplifiers offer higher gain in small device sizes and better integration with photonic devices than the commonly available fiber amplifiers. However, on-chip amplifiers have yet to make its way into the mainstream due to the limited availability of materials with ideal li...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2017-06-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-03543-w |
| _version_ | 1818343774189780992 |
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| author | George F. R. Chen Xinyu Zhao Yang Sun Chaobin He Mei Chee Tan Dawn T. H. Tan |
| author_facet | George F. R. Chen Xinyu Zhao Yang Sun Chaobin He Mei Chee Tan Dawn T. H. Tan |
| author_sort | George F. R. Chen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract On-chip waveguide amplifiers offer higher gain in small device sizes and better integration with photonic devices than the commonly available fiber amplifiers. However, on-chip amplifiers have yet to make its way into the mainstream due to the limited availability of materials with ideal light guiding and amplification properties. A low-loss nanostructured on-chip channel polymeric waveguide amplifier was designed, characterized, fabricated and its gain experimentally measured at telecommunication wavelength. The active polymeric waveguide core comprises of NaYF4:Yb,Er,Ce core-shell nanocrystals dispersed within a SU8 polymer, where the nanoparticle interfacial characteristics were tailored using hydrolyzed polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane-graft-poly(methyl methacrylate) to improve particle dispersion. Both the enhanced IR emission intensity from our nanocrystals using a tri-dopant scheme and the reduced scattering losses from our excellent particle dispersion at a high solid loading of 6.0 vol% contributed to the outstanding optical performance of our polymeric waveguide. We achieved one of the highest reported gain of 6.6 dB/cm using a relatively low coupled pump power of 80 mW. These polymeric waveguide amplifiers offer greater promise for integrated optical circuits due to their processability and integration advantages which will play a key role in the emerging areas of flexible communication and optoelectronic devices. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T16:35:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-816b1aed80694a02bc676ab3fff9d1f1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T16:35:55Z |
| publishDate | 2017-06-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-816b1aed80694a02bc676ab3fff9d1f12022-12-21T23:38:24ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222017-06-01711810.1038/s41598-017-03543-wLow Loss Nanostructured Polymers for Chip-scale Waveguide AmplifiersGeorge F. R. Chen0Xinyu Zhao1Yang Sun2Chaobin He3Mei Chee Tan4Dawn T. H. Tan5Engineering Product Development, Singapore University of Technology and DesignEngineering Product Development, Singapore University of Technology and DesignDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of SingaporeDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of SingaporeEngineering Product Development, Singapore University of Technology and DesignEngineering Product Development, Singapore University of Technology and DesignAbstract On-chip waveguide amplifiers offer higher gain in small device sizes and better integration with photonic devices than the commonly available fiber amplifiers. However, on-chip amplifiers have yet to make its way into the mainstream due to the limited availability of materials with ideal light guiding and amplification properties. A low-loss nanostructured on-chip channel polymeric waveguide amplifier was designed, characterized, fabricated and its gain experimentally measured at telecommunication wavelength. The active polymeric waveguide core comprises of NaYF4:Yb,Er,Ce core-shell nanocrystals dispersed within a SU8 polymer, where the nanoparticle interfacial characteristics were tailored using hydrolyzed polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane-graft-poly(methyl methacrylate) to improve particle dispersion. Both the enhanced IR emission intensity from our nanocrystals using a tri-dopant scheme and the reduced scattering losses from our excellent particle dispersion at a high solid loading of 6.0 vol% contributed to the outstanding optical performance of our polymeric waveguide. We achieved one of the highest reported gain of 6.6 dB/cm using a relatively low coupled pump power of 80 mW. These polymeric waveguide amplifiers offer greater promise for integrated optical circuits due to their processability and integration advantages which will play a key role in the emerging areas of flexible communication and optoelectronic devices.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-03543-w |
| spellingShingle | George F. R. Chen Xinyu Zhao Yang Sun Chaobin He Mei Chee Tan Dawn T. H. Tan Low Loss Nanostructured Polymers for Chip-scale Waveguide Amplifiers Scientific Reports |
| title | Low Loss Nanostructured Polymers for Chip-scale Waveguide Amplifiers |
| title_full | Low Loss Nanostructured Polymers for Chip-scale Waveguide Amplifiers |
| title_fullStr | Low Loss Nanostructured Polymers for Chip-scale Waveguide Amplifiers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Low Loss Nanostructured Polymers for Chip-scale Waveguide Amplifiers |
| title_short | Low Loss Nanostructured Polymers for Chip-scale Waveguide Amplifiers |
| title_sort | low loss nanostructured polymers for chip scale waveguide amplifiers |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-03543-w |
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