Abstract
Lithium niobate (LiNbO3) is one of the most promising materials for use in hybrid optical waveguide devices because of its high electro-optic coefficient and its availability as large single crystals. Optical waveguides in LiNbO3 are most commonly made by Ti indiffusion in which strips of Ti metal (between 10 and 100 nm thick) are deposited on a single crystal LiNbO3 substrate. The device is then heated to temperatures around 1000°C typically for 6 hours. During this time, the Ti diffuses into the LiNbO3 to form a Ti-rich LiNbO3 solid solution. This solid solution has a higher refractive index than the substrate and forms the waveguide region. Factors controlling the indiffusion process, however, are not very well understood and very little is known about the microstructural changes which occur during Ti indiffusion. In this study, the microstructure of Ti:LiNbO3 optical waveguides was examined as a function of time and temperature using transmission electron microscopy (TEM).
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