Active waveguides in ferroelectric crystals by ion exchange

Copper–lithium ion exchange in LiNbO3

“…[3][4][5][6]8 In particular, the combined proton and copper exchange has recently attracted much attention for the creation of a solid-state laser in LiNbO 3 , working in the yellow-green range. [3][4][5][6]8 In particular, the combined proton and copper exchange has recently attracted much attention for the creation of a solid-state laser in LiNbO 3 , working in the yellow-green range.…”

The r33 electro-optic coefficient of Er:LiNbO3

“…In the past, erbium incorporation in lithium niobate was obtained mainly by a local doping technique such as ion implantation [1,2], thermal diffusion from thin films [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10], ion exchange [11][12][13][14][15] and bulk doping [16][17][18]. Local doping has many drawbacks, as it can be realized only in regions close to the surface, the maximum achievable erbium content is limited and it is not compatible with buried waveguide geometries which, instead, demonstrate enhanced optical coupling with the fibres.…”

Model of the erbium ion exchange process in lithium niobate crystals

“…Within the frame of this scientific research, few years ago we demonstrated for the first time the feasibility of erbium local doping of lithium niobate by ion exchange technique. [15][16][17][18] This prompted us to ͑i͒ further investigate the complex phenomena involved in a nonisovalent ion replacement by carrying a systematic analysis over all the optimized experimental parameters; ͑ii͒ develop a model able to predict the experimental dopant in-depth profiles. In literature Nernst-Planck model has been successfully applied espe-cially to describe the isovalent ion exchange in glasses.…”