Sm³⁺-doped polymer optical waveguide amplifiers

Trivalent samarium ion (Sm³⁺) doped SU8 polymer materials were synthesized and characterized. Intense red emission at 645 nm was observed under UV laser light excitation. Spectroscopic investigations show that the doped materials are suitable for realizing planar optical waveguide amplifiers. About 100 μm wide multimode Sm³⁺-doped SU8 channel waveguides were fabricated using a simple UV exposure process. At 250 mW, 351 nm UV pump power, a signal enhancement of ∼7.4 dB at 645 nm was obtained for a 15 mm long channel waveguide. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.