Characterisation of planar waveguides formed by proton implantation in lithium iodate

Permanent optical waveguides were produced by proton implantation in lithium iodate crystals. After implantation the samples present a good optical quality. No annealing procedure is required. The index profiles have been measured by dark modes spectroscopy and the ordinary refractive index has been obtained with an inverse WKB method Moreover, the optical barrier is relevant with a maximum index change of about 0.04. The effects of ion fluence and beam energy have been investigated on z-cut samples.