Rare-earth organic complexes for amplification in polymer optical fibers and waveguides

The optical properties of rare-earth organic complexes have been studied because of their possible application to polymer optical fibers and waveguides. ${\mathrm{Er}}^{3+}$, ${\mathrm{Nd}}^{3+}$, and ${\mathrm{Sm}}^{3+}$ ions are encapsulated in tetrakis(benzoyltrifluoroacetonate) and tetrakis(dibenzoylmethide) chelates, and their radiative properties are evaluated in several organic solvents. Analysis reveals that tetrakis(benzoyltrifluoroacetonate) chelates are promising dopants for use in rare-earth-doped polymer devices. These rare-earth complexes can be doped to high concentrations in polymer systems without quenching, providing the means for short-length amplification devices. Numerical simulations reveal that gains as high as and exceeding 20 dB should be realizable in rare-earth-doped polymer fiber amplifiers having lengths <60 cm. Similar calculations reveal threshold pump powers of tens of milliwatts for rare-earth-doped polymer fiber lasers.