Planar and ridge waveguides formed in LiNbO3 by proton exchange combined with oxygen ion implantation

We report on the fabrication of planar and ridge waveguides in lithium niobate by proton exchange combined with oxygen ion implantation. The implanted energy ranges from 600 to 1400 keV with a dose of 1x10(15) ions/cm(2). The modes in proton exchanged waveguide can be modulated by O ion implantation. There are different damage profiles in proton-exchanged and ion-implanted waveguides in Rutherford backscattering/channeling spectra. The refractive index profile in single-mode waveguide in lithium niobate has been obtained based on Intensity Calculation Method. Also ridge waveguide was fabricated on the basis of planar waveguide by Ar ion beam etching. The measured near-field intensity distributions of the ridge waveguide modes show a reasonable agreement with the simulated ones. The estimated propagation loss was similar to 2.2 dB/cm. (C) 2010 Optical Society of America