Periodically segmented waveguides in Ti:LiNbO(3)

Periodically segmented waveguides with periods of few tens of micrometers and nonconnected segments are studied experimentally in Ti:LiNbO(3). The near-field patterns were found to expand with decreasing duty cycle but to be independent of the segmentation period. The measured segmentation losses vary between 0.5 and 2.5 dB/cm, depending on the period and the duty cycle. These results agree with a simple numerical model, based on two loss mechanisms: waveguide segmentation and surface relief related to Ti indiffusion.