Neodymium-doped ion-exchanged waveguide lasers in BK-7 glass

Abstract

The availability of integrated optical sources in glass is expected greatly to enhance optical signal processing in glass substrates. A study of potassium ion-exchanged waveguide lasers in neodymium-doped BK-7 glass substrates is reported. Design parameters for low-threshold waveguide lasers with high slope efficiencies are described, and methods are given for the fabrication of substrates, waveguides and laser cavities. Properties of the substrates, waveguides and the resulting lasers are presented in detail.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>