Photosensitivity of solgel-derived germanosilicate planar waveguides

The effects of controlled atmosphere heat treatments on the photosensitivity and UV absorption of GeO(2)-SiO(2) solgel planar waveguides are presented. Photoinduced refractive-index changes in the samples are deduced from photosensitive grating writing experiments and are found to be of the order of those seen in some fiber experiments. A correlation is seen between the sample sensitivity and the strength of the absorption at 242 nm, providing insight into the possible mechanisms governing photosensitive processes in these materials.