Ions of selected elements are accelerated and implanted into solids, which thereby modifies the related properties of the targets. This process is normally called `ion implantation' or `ion irradiation'. By using these energetic ion beams, the physical, chemical, electrical, and optical properties of the target materials could be changed to a certain extent; therefore, new applications correlated to these material modifications would be expected towards diverse purposes [1,2]. In the areas of optics, the implantation of metallic ions (e.g., Au or Ag) into dielectrics may be used to synthesize embedded nanoparticles to realize plasmonic effects due to the localized interaction of light fields with the external medium [3]. In integrated optics, ion beams with diverse parameters (i.e., ion species, fluences, energies, and beam scales) could be utilized to fabricate optical waveguides with tailored geometries in a broad variety of optical materials, including glass, crystals, ceramics, and polymers [4]. There have been several books and review articles demonstrating the research progress in this topic [4-7]. Although some physical mechanisms require further investigation for detailed understanding, ion beam technology as a technique for waveguide fabrication seems to be somehow mature to the scientific community. In this chapter, the ion beam techniques for waveguide fabrication will be overviewed in Section 13.1. In Section 13.2, the typical refractive index profiles of the ion-beam-produced waveguides will be introduced briefly. Section 13.3 demonstrates the fabrication for two dimensionally confined waveguides, i.e., channel waveguides, by using diverse ion beam solutions. Finally, the selected applications of ion-beam-produced waveguides will be highlighted in Section 13.4.

Chapter Contents:

• 13.1 Ion beam techniques for waveguide fabrication
• 13.1.1 Light-ion implantation
• 13.1.2 Heavy-ion implantation
• 13.1.3 Swift heavy-ion irradiation
• 13.1.4 Proton beam writing
• 13.2 Refractive index profiles
• 13.2.1 Optical barrier (Sn)-type profile
• 13.2.2 Enhanced well (Se) plus optical barrier (Sn)-type profile
• 13.2.3 Optical barrier (Se)-type profile
• 13.2.4 Enhanced well (Se)-type profile
• 13.2.5 Enhanced well (Sn)-type profile
• 13.3 Channel waveguide fabrication
• 13.3.1 Mask-assisted implantation of stripe waveguides
• 13.3.2 Lateral patterning of ridge waveguides
• 13.3.3 Focused beam writing of buried waveguides
• 13.3.4 Selective illumination of reconfigurable waveguides
• 13.4 Selected applications
• 13.4.1 Electro-optic modulators
• 13.4.2 Frequency converters
• 13.4.3 Waveguide amplifiers
• 13.4.4 Waveguide lasers
• 13.4.5 Waveguide sensors
• 13.5 Conclusions and outlook
• Acknowledgement
• References

Inspec keywords: gold; ion implantation; integrated optics; optical waveguides; plasmonics; optical fabrication; refractive index; ion beam effects; silver

Other keywords: Ag; physical properties; external medium; chemical properties; channel waveguides; ion beam technology; ion beam techniques; waveguide fabrication; ion implantation; refractive index profiles; diverse ion beam solutions; beam scales; ion irradiation; light fields; integrated optics; energetic ion beams; Au; embedded nanoparticles; target materials; two dimensionally confined waveguides; ion species; optical waveguides; electrical properties; optical properties; localized interaction; metallic ions; plasmonic effects; ion-beam-produced waveguides; optical materials

Subjects: Optical waveguides; Optical waveguides and couplers; Integrated optics; Optical fabrication, surface grinding; Integrated optics