Ion irradiated Er:YAG ceramic cladding waveguide amplifier in C and L bands

We report on the optical-signal amplification in a cladding waveguide that was fabricated in Er:YAG ceramic by multiple carbon-ion irradiation. The waveguide has a multilayer structure that assures good overlap between the pump beam and the input signal. Under the pump at 980 nm with a fiber-coupled diode laser, the cladding waveguide possess a peak internal gain of 2.6 dB/cm at 1550 nm and of 4.0 dB/cm at 1585 nm. This work demonstrates the potential use as amplifier in the C and L communication bands of cladding waveguides fabricated in Er:YAG by carbon ion irradiation technique.