Patent ID: 6640040
Filing Date: 2003-10-28
Classification: G02B,H01S

Abstract:
A method of fabricating a monolithic cladding-pumped optical waveguide amplifier, comprising the steps of:fabricating a multi-layer planar construction having n rare earth-doped core layer(s) and n+1 cladding layers in alternating layered arrangement, and top and bottom surfaces revealing a cross-section of the layers, wherein the core layer(s) has a higher refractive index than the cladding layers; and diffusing ions through at least one of the top and bottom surfaces into the core layer(s) and the cladding layers to form ion-diffused regions thereof having respectively increased refractive indices, the ion-diffused regions forming an ion-diffused block laterally situated between non-diffused regions of a pair of partially-diffused cladding layers, wherein the ion-diffused region(s) of the core layer(s) forms a signal waveguide(s) for carrying signals therethrough, and the ion-diffused regions of the cladding slabs together form a cladding-pump waveguide for optically pumping the signals carried through the signal waveguide(s).