Optical waveguide amplifier in Nd-doped glass writtenwith near-IR femtosecond laser pulses

Abstract
A near-IR (775 nm) femtosecond laser has been used to directly write a 1 cm long optical waveguide in Nd-doped silicate glass. A gain of 1.5 dB/cm was obtained at a signal wavelength of 1054 nm for ~346 mW of 514 nm pump power, in front of the input coupling objective.