Optical waveguides formed in Nd:YVO4 by MeV Si+ implantation

Abstract

The planar waveguide has been fabricated in a Nd:YVO4 crystal by 3.0 MeV Si+ ion implantation at a dose of 1×1015 ions/cm2 at room temperature. The waveguide was characterized by the prism-coupling method. The dark modes are measured before and after the annealing at 240 °C for 60 min in air. The refractive index profile is reconstructed using reflectivity calculation method. It is found that relatively large positive change of ordinary refractive index happens in the guiding region, which is quite different from most of the observed ion-implanted waveguides. The TRIM’98 code is carried out to simulate the energy loss during the implantation in order to obtain a better understanding for the waveguide formation.

Continuous-wave laser action at λ=1064.3 nm in proton- and carbon-implanted Nd:YAG waveguides

“…An alternative way to fabricate wider waveguides using ion implantation is to use protons instead of He ϩ ions, because, for a given energy, the ion range is much deeper in the case of lighter ions, 5 this fact being advantageous when infrared light propagates along the waveguide. Instead of using light ions, optical waveguides can also be produced implanting heavy ions, 6 such as carbon, 7 for which a greater index decrease in the nuclear region is produced for a given dose. This leads to the formation of a higher optical barrier, which implies a reduction of tunneling losses.…”

Planar optical waveguides formed in β-BBO by MeV O+ implantation

“…Ion implantation may induce a refractive index change in crystal by two effects [5][6][7][8]. First, at high energy, the region crossed by ions undergoes electronic damage which may produce the variation of the refractive indices.…”

“…Diffusion and epitaxial growth have been used to fabricate waveguides in LiNbO 3 and Si-based substrates. However, ion implantation may be a universal method for fabricating waveguide structures in most optical materials because it has a superior controllability and reproducibility to other techniques [4][5][6][7]. It also offers the possibility to bury a waveguide at various depths below the substrate surface by changing the ion species and energies of implantation.…”

Annealing effect on optical barrier in ion-implanted tellurite glass waveguides

“…It is well known that an annealing post-implantation process, performed at different temperatures, can reduce the presence of these defects and change the optical properties of an ion-implanted waveguide. [13][14][15] Hence, in order to optimise the waveguide function, a study of the effects produced on the guiding structure by a post-implant annealing is necessary. Here we give some significant results obtained by our investigations on the thermal annealing effects in ion-implanted tellurite slab waveguides.…”