Sally Pucilowski

Dehydroxylation of phosphate laser glass

Rates of dehydroxylation of two Nd-doped metaphosphate laser glasses (LG-770 and LHG-8) are measured and modeled. Glass melts ranging in size from 100 g to 2.8 kg were bubbled with O2 containing various H2O partial pressures (PH(subscript 2O)) and with O2/Cl2 mixtures at temperatures ranging from 925 - 1300 degree(s)C. The OH content in the glass was measured by monitoring the OH absorption at 3.333 micrometers at various bubbling times. The OH removal by inert gas bubbling (e.g. O2 bubbling) is governed by the transport (diffusion) of OH to the glass liquid/vapor interface and by the chemical equilibrium between OH at the surface and H2O in the gas phase. The equilibrium OH content in glass melts bubbled with O2 containing different PH(subscript 2O) varies as PH(subscript 2O)1/2.

New heavy metal oxide silicate amplifier glass for compact and broadband amplifiers

Properties of a new rare-earth doped heavy metal oxide containing silicate glass are presented. The glass has potential for fabrication of ultra-short wideband fiber and planar waveguide amplifiers. We report specific results for a fiber amplifier geometry, discussing achieved improvements in device compactness (Giles gain g* = 210 dB/m allowing up to 100 times shorter fiber) and amplification bandwidth (50% more bandwidth in C-/L-band) compared to the conventional EDFA. We also access the potential of this material for fabrication of active planar integrated waveguide devices.