Effective refractive index change of <bold>X</bold>-cut <bold>Z</bold>-propagation <inline-formula><math display="inline" overflow="scroll"><mi>Ti</mi><mo>:</mo><msub><mi>LiNbO</mi><mrow><mn>3</mn></mrow></msub></math></inline-formula> waveguides by laser ablation

Abstract

Laser ablation was applied to X -cut Z-propagation Ti:LiNbO 3 waveguides. The effective refractive index change of the waveguides after the ablation was measured for both TE and TM modes. The change is more sensitive to the ablation for the TE than for the TM mode. This phenomenon was confirmed by measuring the modal effective refractive indices of a nonablated and an ablated planar Ti:LiNbO 3 waveguide with the m -line method. A photoelastic effect that may cause the different effective index changes of the waveguide modes after ablation is discussed.