Amplitude of the dynamic phase gratings in saturable Er-doped fibers

Abstract

Dynamic population gratings recorded via local saturation of optical absorption/gain in rare-earth (Er, Yb) doped fibers demonstrate contributions of the amplitude and phase components. Quantitative comparison of the experimentally observed amplitude grating efficiency with that evaluated from spatially uniform saturation of the fiber optical absorption usually shows a significant discrepancy. The grating amplitude proves to be significantly weaker than its theoretical evaluation. The first results on quantitative comparison of the recorded phase grating amplitudes with spatially uniform photo-induced refractive index change in Er-doped fibers at three essentially different wavelengths (1485, 1526, and 1568 nm) are reported. As for the amplitude grating component, the experimentally observed phase grating amplitude is inferior to its theoretical evaluation; this discrepancy is spectrally dependent and is also significantly reduced in the short-wavelength region 1480–1490 nm on the Er³⁺ ion absorption.