Lithium disilicate crystalline slab waveguidesfrom surface crystallised glass

Abstract

Crystalline slab waveguides of lithium disilicate (Li2Si2O5) were prepared by surface crystallisation of a lithium disilicate glass after heat treatment. By controlling the depth of the waveguides with varying heat treatment temperatures and times, singlemode and multimode waveguides were obtained. The refractive index and optical propagation loss of the slab waveguides were characterised.