Monomode, nonleaky planar waveguides in a Nd3+-doped silicate glass produced by silicon ion implantation at low doses

Monomode, nonleaky planar waveguides in a Nd3+-doped silicate glass were fabricated by 3.0 MeV Si+ ion implantation at doses ranging from 5x10(13) to 6x10(14) ions/cm(2) at room temperature. The enhancement of the refractive index confined the light propagating in the waveguide without tunneling effects in contrast to the traditional barrier-type waveguide. Annealing at moderate temperatures (about 200 degreesC) in air was performed, which reduced the propagation loss from 20-30 dB/cm to a minimum of 0.5 dB/cm. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.