Enhanced thermal stability of oleic-acid-capped PbS quantum dot optical fiber amplifier.

Poor thermal stability has remained a severe obstacle for practical applications of optical fiber amplifiers based on quantum dots (QDs). We demonstrate that thermal stability at elevated temperatures can be achieved by using oleic-acid-capped QDs. Optical fiber amplifiers using oleic-acid-capped QDs for the gain medium exhibited stable gain of more than 5 dB at 1550 nm between 25 °C and 50 °C that did not degrade upon cooling. In contrast, fiber amplifiers employing oleylamine-capped QDs exhibited reduced gain when heated and subsequently cooled.