Optical waveguides in TiO₂ formed by He ion implantation.

We report on the formation and the optical properties of the planar and ridge optical waveguides in rutile TiO₂ crystal by He+ ion implantation combined with micro-fabrication technologies. Planar optical waveguides in TiO₂ are fabricated by high-energy (2.8 MeV) He+-ion implantation with a dose of 3 × 10¹⁶ ions/cm² and triple low energies (450, 500, 550) keV He+-ion implantation with all fluences of 2 × 10¹⁶ ions/cm² at room temperature. The guided modes were measured by a modal 2010 prism coupler at wavelength of 1539 nm. There are damage profiles in ion-implanted waveguides by Rutherford backscattering (RBS)/channeling measurements. The refractive-index profile of the 2.8 MeV He+-implanted waveguide was analyzed based on RCM (Reflected Calculation Method). Also ridge waveguides were fabricated by femtosecond laser ablation on 2.8 MeV ion implanted planar waveguide and Ar ion beam etching on the basis of triple keV ion implanted planar waveguide, separately. The loss of the ridge waveguide was estimated. The measured near-field intensity distributions of the planar and ridge modes are all shown.