Performance of Ar/sup +/-milled Ti:sapphire rib waveguides as single transverse-mode broadband fluorescence sources |
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Authors: | Grivas C Shepherd DP May-Smith TC Eason RW Pollnau M Crunteanu A Jelinek M |
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Affiliation: | Optoelectronics Res. Centre, Univ. of Southampton, UK; |
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Abstract: | Rib waveguides have been fabricated in pulsed-laser-deposited Ti:sapphire layers using photolithographic patterning and subsequent Ar/sup +/-beam milling. Fluorescence output powers up to 300 /spl mu/W have been observed from the ribs following excitation by a 3-W multiline argon laser. Mode intensity profiles show high optical confinement and the measured beam propagation factors M/sub x//sup 2/ and M/sub y//sup 2/ of 1.12 and 1.16, respectively, indicate single transverse-mode fluorescence emission. Loss measurements using the self-pumped phase conjugation technique have yielded comparable values (1.7 dB/cm) for the ribs and the unstructured planar waveguide counterparts. The combination of optimum modal properties and strong optical confinement, together with sufficient levels of fluorescence output, make the single-moded Ti:sapphire rib waveguides a very interesting candidate as a fluorescence source for optical coherence tomography applications. |
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