Spectroscopic investigations of dispersion-shifted fiber with thin active Bi-doped ring and high nonlinear refractive index

A germanium-doped silica-core fiber with an active region in the form of a thin ring of silica doped with bismuth ions was fabricated. Bismuth doping in the ring surrounding the core allows to stabilize bismuth in silica glass, and it does not impose any restrictions on the composition of the core. The bismuth concentration in the ring is less than 0.2 wt.%. The GeO2 concentration in the core is more than 15 mol.%. A high germanium concentration in the core allows to shift the zero dispersion wavelength to 1860 nm and to obtain a high nonlinear refractive index (n2 more than 3,2*10-20 m2/W). Spectroscopic investigations were carried out in the visible and near infrared (800-1700 nm) spectral range. Despite the small concentration of bismuth, we observed the absorption and luminescence characteristic bands, confirming the presence of bismuth active centers in silica glass. Upon pumping at 1350 nm the on/off gain spectrum was measured on a 20-m fiber. The gain was observed throughout investigated range of 1430-1530 nm. The maximal gain of ~9.5 dB was obtained near 1430 nm. The results of the spectroscopic investigations of the fiber with a thin active Bi-doped ring showed prospects of the creation and application of such fiber type for laser and nonlinear optics.