Domain patterning thin crystalline ferroelectric film with focused ion beam for nonlinear photonic integrated circuits

Domain patterning thin ferroelectric films creates nonlinear optical devices. Unfortunately, pinholes cause conventional electrical domain-poling methods to short circuit when used on thin film. We have applied a focused ion beam (FIB) to pattern the ferroelectric domains of LiNbO3 single crystalline films with thicknesses of 800 nm-2 mu m. FIB can fabricate domains 100 times faster than a scanning probe microscope and can be applied to irregular surface structures. Furthermore, FIB is compatible with semiconductor device processing techniques, which paves the way for monolithic nonlinear photonic integrated circuits in ferroelectrics. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.