Accelerated aging of annealed proton-exchanged waveguides

Abstract

Abstrucf-Low temperature hydrogen diffusion in annealed proton-exchanged (APEm) waveguides has the potential of degrading device performance over a period of several years. An accelerated aging study was performed in order to determine its impact on device performance. The effect of aging was modeled as a second anneal. Both planar waveguides and Yfed Balanced-Bridge Modulator (YBBM) devices were aged at elevated temperatures. The hydrogen concentration profde of the planar waveguides was measured after aging with Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) and compared to the profile from a control sample. The YBBM characteristics were measured as a function of aging time as well. Measured activation energies indicate that hydrogen diffusion is the dominant aging mechanism in the YBBM. Extrapolations indicate that device degradation is negligible at temperatures of 95" C or below. An operatinglstorage temperature as high as 125°C can be sustained for 13 years with little effect. A method for determining the effect of aging on any device is outlined.

A review of lithium niobate modulators for fiber-optic communications systems

“…The annealing process successfully addresses the problems of index instability [9], [10] and deterioration of the electrooptic effect [11] exhibited by proton-exchanged waveguides without anneal. Accelerated aging studies carried out on x-cut APE directional couplers and Mach-Zehnder modulators have shown no degradation of device performance over a 13-year lifetime at 125 C and a 25-year lifetime at 95 C [12], [13].…”

The application status of accelerated test technology in gyroscopes life assessment

“…The mathematic model of Y waveguides' degradation mechanism is built in [12], and how the measure parameters outside reflect tthis mechanism inside is deduced, which is completed and convincing.…”

Análise de guias de ondas ópticos e de microondas pelo Método dos Elementos Finitos.

“…Os íons de hidrogênio do banho e os íons de Li do cristal migram, aumentando a concentração de prótons no cristal e reduzindo a concentração de Li. O processo PE, em ácido benzóico puro, resulta em um aumento de aproximadamente 0,12 no valor do índice de refração extraordinário do LiNbO 3 , para λ = 0,6328 µm, enquanto o índice ordinário permanece praticamente inalterado [136] - [138]. Além disso, há uma redução nos coeficientes eletroópticos e as perdas por propagação aumentam [139].…”