Optical and electro-optical properties of submicrometer lithium niobate slab waveguides prepared by crystal ion slicing and wafer bonding

Abstract

LiNbO 3 thin film crystals have been produced using crystal ion slicing and wafer bonding. Films with a thickness of 680nm are produced on a thin layer of SiO2, which is deposited on a substrate with electrodes. The crystalline and optical qualities of the fabricated thin films are investigated and are comparable to bulk LiNbO3 single crystals. The effect of thermal annealing is studied using Rutherford backscattering. The refractive indices and the electro-optical (EO) coefficient of the fabricated films are measured using prism coupling dark line spectroscopy and modified attenuated total reflection. The EO coefficient is equal to r33=31pm∕V at λ=633nm.