Rare-earth-doped waveguide

US7024092B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignees

• The University of Sydney · AU
• The Commonwealth of Australia represented by the Defence Science and Technology Organization of the Department of Defence · AU

Inventors

• Mark Englund · Fawn Drive, AU
• Sigurd Weidemann Loevseth · Trondheim, NO

Key dates

• Filing date: Dec 7, 2001
• Grant date: Apr 4, 2006
• Expiry date: Dec 19, 2021

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H01S3/06729
• WIPO field: Optics
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

The present invention is to a method of adapting optical rare-earth-doped waveguide (10) having a plurality of transverse propagation modes, such that in use, signal gains of non-fundamental modes of the waveguide are attenuated relative to a signal gain of a fundamental mode of the waveguide. The waveguide (10) has a light-guiding region (45) defined by a refractive index-modifying dopant, such as Ge, which has a thermal diffusion coefficient at temperature T in the waveguide greater than a thermal diffusion coefficient of the rare-earth dopant at temperature T. The method comprises heating the waveguide (10) at the temperature T such that a concentration profile of the refractive index-modifying dopant becomes broader than a concentration profile of the rare-earth dopant.