Relationships between structural and optical properties of proton-exchanged waveguides on Z-cut lithium niobate

By using x-ray diffraction and optical waveguide characterization, it has been shown that proton-exchanged layers on Z-cut LiNbO(3) can have as many as seven different crystallographic phases that are stable at room temperature. This study allows us to establish some correlation between fabrication parameters and the crystalline structure, the index profiles, and the propagation losses of waveguides prepared by this process.