Great enhancement of relative gain in polymer waveguide amplifier using NaYF₄/NaLuF₄:Yb,Er-PMMA nanocomposite as gain media

Polymer-based waveguide amplifiers were the key devices in short-distance optical communication systems. However, the low relative gain of these amplifiers hindered their practical applications. Here, we introduced a kind of waveguide amplifier devices affording higher relative gain, which were using a new nanocomposite as gain media. The nanocomposite was synthesized by copolymerization of the methyl methacrylate (MMA) monomers with the unsaturated organic ligand-modified core-shell rare earth nanoparticles (NPs). Due to the formation of chemical bonds between the NPs and the polymer matrix, the dispersion of NPs and the stability of the nanocomposite were both greatly improved. Therefore, using this nanocomposite as gain media, in a 15 mm long embedded rectangular waveguide, a really high relative gain of 27 dB at 1535 nm with the 980 nm laser pump was observed, which was nearly three times higher than that in our previous work. Owing to its good performance, the nanocomposite could play an important role in the future optical communication technology.