For the first time, refractive-index changes are described which are due to laser irradiation in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer composed of TiO2-doped silica optical waveguides on an Si substrate. A maximum refractive-index change of about 1.0 x 10(-5) is obtained around 1.5-mu-m at an Ar+ laser throughput power of 2.1 W and an irradiation time of 1 h even though the concentration of TiO2 is very low (about 0.3 mol. %).