Third-order nonlinearity of Er(3+)-doped lead phosphate glass

The third-order optical susceptibility and dispersion of the linear refractive index of Er(3+)-doped lead phosphate glass were measured in the wavelength range between 400 and 1940 nm by using the spectrally resolved femtosecond Maker fringes technique. The nonlinear refractive index obtained from the third-order susceptibility was found to be five times higher than that of silica, indicating that Er(3+)-doped lead phosphate glass is a potential candidate to be used as the base component for the fabrication of photonic devices. For comparison purposes, the Z-scan technique was also employed to obtain the values of the nonlinear refractive index of Er(3+)-doped lead phosphate glass at several wavelengths, and the values obtained using the two techniques agree to within 15%.FUNCAPFundação Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (FUNCAP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)CAPESPRONEXConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)FAPESPConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)CNPqFinanciadora de Estudos e Projetos (FINEP)FINEP BrazilianDivision of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)[DE-AC05-00OR2725]U.S. Department of Energy (DOE