Thermal bleaching of BACs in bismuth/erbium co-doped fiber fabricated through 3D silica lithography

Opt Lett. 2020 Jul 1;45(13):3729-3732. doi: 10.1364/OL.397975.

Abstract

Bismuth/erbium co-doped optical fiber fabricated through 3D silica lithography is thermally treated with various conditions. Then the thermal treatment effect on bismuth active centers (BACs) in this fiber is investigated. The thermal bleaching of the BAC associated with Al and the BAC associated with Si is observed after thermal treatment at high temperatures (300°C-800°C). It is found that the absorption and luminescence of BACs dramatically decrease after the thermal treatment, even totally bleaching at 700°C. The results show that the temperature and dwell time have significant effects on the thermal bleaching and activation of BACs. The underlying mechanisms of these thermal-induced effects are further discussed.