Fabrication of buried channel waveguides using focussed MeV proton irradiation

Abstract

It has long been known that planar optical waveguides can be fabricated by irradiating various dielectric materials with protons. In this paper we report recent work on the fabrication and characterisation of buried channel optical waveguides fabricated using focussed MeV proton and molecular hydrogen implantation. The use of a focussed beam eliminates the need for a mask and, with a combination of beam and sample scanning, offers the potential of direct write implanted waveguides and waveguide devices. We describe the fabrication of single-mode and multi-mode waveguides in fused silica using different current and beam-shape parameters, along with spectroscopic and optical techniques for the..