退火参数对熔石英透射波前和损伤阈值的影响

 采用高温退火技术去除熔石英元件表面由于CO2激光修复带来的残余应力,研究了退火环境对元件的表面污染,分析了不同退火温度（600～900 ℃）和保温时间（3～10 h）对于元件残余应力、透射波前、表面粗糙度和激光损伤阈值的影响。结果表明:在800 ℃以下,高温退火10 h可有效去除CO₂激光修复带来的残余应力,对元件的透射波前和表面粗糙度无明显影响;石英保护盒能有效减少退火环境对元件表面产生的污染,但仍有X射线光电子能谱检测不到的表面污染物存在;在退火后采用质量分数为1%的HF刻蚀15 min,激光损伤阈值可恢复,同时元件透射波前和表面粗糙度并无明显的增加。     

Cu2+离子注入的石英光波导的特性研究

利用Cu2+离子注入的方式在熔融石英和石英晶体上分别制备了平面光波导结构.通过棱镜耦合实验测试了两种光波导的导模特性,结果表明:在同样的注入条件下熔融石英上形成了增加型的光波导结构,而石英晶体上形成了位垒型的光波导结构.研究了退火温度对两种光波导导模折射率的影响,熔融石英光波导中导模的折射率随着退火温度的升高而降低,而石英晶体光波导中导模的折射率随着退火温度的升高先增加后降低.为了进一步分析离子注入两种材料形成光波导的微观机理,利用SRIM模拟了Cu2+离子注入两种材料的电子能量损失和核能量损失,并且模拟了两种光波导结构的折射率分布.模拟结果表明:熔融石英光波导的主要形成原因是离子注入表面的折射率大于其体材料的折射率,而石英晶体光波导的主要形成原因是离子射程末端的折射率小于其体材料的折射率.因此,在熔融石英光波导的形成中电子能量损失起主要作用,而在石英晶体光波导的形成中核能量损失起主要作用.     

硅基二氧化硅光波导器件偏振特性的理论分析

从理论上分析了硅基二氧化硅光波导器件的芯区尺寸、相对折射率差、内应力和弯曲径对器件偏振特性的影响,得出结论：小折射率差的正方形波导的双折射系数小;内应力对双折射的影响比几何参数大;弯曲半径较小时,双折射系数较大,弯曲损耗也较大。     

Measurement of birefringence in thin-film waveguides by Rayleigh scattering

A method of measuring birefringence in slab and ridge waveguides based on the coherent superposition of Rayleigh light scattering from TE and TM polarized modes is described and demonstrated in silica-on-silicon waveguides. A measurement accuracy of approximately 10(-6) has been achieved. This method is used to determine the evolution of waveguide birefringence with annealing temperature in phosphorous-doped glass waveguides. The measured birefringence increases rapidly with annealing temperatures up to 800 degrees C but remains unchanged for higher-temperature anneals. We interpret this threshold as the temperature above which glass can flow.     

Femtosecond laser fabrication of phase-shifted Bragg grating waveguides in fused silica

Phase-shifted Bragg grating waveguides (PSBGWs) were formed in bulk fused silica glass by femtosecond laser direct writing to produce narrowband (22±3) pm filters at 1550 nm. Tunable π and other phase shifts generated narrow passbands in controlled positions of the Bragg stopband, while the accurate placement of multiple cascaded phase-shift regions yielded a rectangular-shaped bandpass filter. A waveguide birefringence of (7.5±0.3)×10(-5) is inferred from the polarization-induced spectral shifting of the PSBGW narrowband filters.     

Effects of annealing time on the structure,morphology, and stress of gold–chromium bilayer film

In this work, a 200-nm-thick gold film with a 10-nm-thick chromium layer used as an adhesive layer is fabricated on fused silica by the electron beam evaporation method. The effects of annealing time at 300℃ on the structure, morphology and stress of the film are studied. We find that chromium could diffuse to the surface of the film by formatting a solid solution with gold during annealing. Meanwhile, chromium is oxidized on the surface and diffused downward along the grain grooves in the gold film. The various operant mechanisms that change the residual stresses of gold films for different annealing times are discussed.     

Stress reduction in planar waveguide using polymer top layer

Planar optical waveguides consisting of layers from different materials created at elevated temperatures usually exhibit substantial stresses. By controlling the layer thickness of polymeric top layer on planar waveguide structures, it is possible to use very thin layers for stress compensation, significantly reducing required deposition times. It is possible to reduce birefringence within planar device by controlling top polymer layer thickness with thermal expansion coefficient greater than silica or PMMA.     

Eliminating the birefringence in silicon-on-insulator ridge waveguides by use of cladding stress

We propose and demonstrate the use of the cladding stress-induced photoelastic effect to eliminate modal birefringence in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) ridge waveguides. Birefringence-free operation was achieved for waveguides with otherwise large birefringence by use of properly chosen thickness and stress of the upper cladding layer. With the stress levels typically found in cladding materials such as SiO2, the birefringence modification range can be as large as 10(-3). In arrayed waveguide grating demultiplexers that were fabricated in a SOI platform, we demonstrated the reduction of the birefringence from 1.2 x 10(-3) (without the upper cladding) to 4.5 x 10(-5) when a 0.8-microm oxide upper cladding with a stress of -320 MPa (compressive) was used. Because the index changes induced by the stress are orders of magnitude smaller than the waveguide core-cladding index contrast, the associated mode mismatch loss is negligible.     

Dosimetry techniques

The formation and annealing of defects in ion implanted silicon dioxide layers and in connection with them the refractive index change are of high interest for the production of electronic and integrated optical devices.

Several studies have shown that the ion implantation in fused silica leads to a compaction of the material and in consequence to an increasing of the refractive index.^1–6 On the other hand the defect formation in crystalline quartz is connected with a decreasing of the refractive index up to nearly the same value for ion implanted quartz and fused silica layers in the high dose region.^1,5 On the base of this effects optical waveguides had been produced by ion implantation in both material.^2,7–12 However, the nature of the mechanisms responsible for the defect formation and for the changes of the optical properties are not well understood.

This paper reports on the ion dose and annealing temperature dependence of several defects in connection with the refractive index change.     

Control of birefringence using polymer as cladding layer in optical planar waveguides

We demonstrate theoretically that a polymer layer, when used as cladding layer for silica-based planar optical waveguides on a silicon substrate, can substantially reduce birefringence. Multilayer planar optical waveguides usually exhibit stresses that are caused by thermal-induced strains that originate from the bonding of the layers, in addition to intrinsic strains. Effect of various intrinsic properties on thermal stress as a function of thickness of the guiding layer is studied. It is shown that it is possible to achieve the thermal stress free and, hence, the stress-induced birefringence free waveguide devices by proper waveguide designs.     

High temperature thermal behaviour modeling of large-scale fused silica optics for laser facility

High temperature annealing is often used for the stress control of optical materials.However,weight and viscosity at high temperature may destroy the surface morphology,especially for the large-scale,thin and heavy optics used for large laser facilities.It is necessary to understand the thermal behaviour and design proper support systems for large-scale optics at high temperature.In this work,three support systems for fused silica optics are designed and simulated with the finite element method.After the analysis of the thermal behaviours of different support systems,some advantages and disadvantages can be revealed.The results show that the support with the optical surface vertical is optimal because both pollution and deformation of optics could be well controlled during annealing at high temperature.Annealing process of the optics irradiated by CO2 laser is also simulated.It can be concluded that high temperature annealing can effectively reduce the residual stress.However,the effects of annealing on surface morphology of the optics are complex.Annealing creep is closely related to the residual stress and strain distribution.In the region with large residual stress,the creep is too large and probably increases the deformation gradient which may affect the laser beam propagation.     

Silicon nanocrystals in silica—Novel active waveguides for nanophotonics

Nanophotonic structures combining electronic confinement in nanocrystals with photon confinement in photonic structures are potential building blocks of future Si-based photonic devices. Here, we present a detailed optical investigation of active planar waveguides fabricated by Si⁺-ion implantation (400 keV, fluences from 3 to 6×10¹⁷ cm⁻²) of fused silica and thermally oxidized Si wafers. Si nanocrystals formed after annealing emit red-IR photoluminescence (PL) (under UV-blue excitation) and define a layer of high refractive index that guides part of the PL emission. Light from external sources can also be coupled into the waveguides (directly to the polished edge facet or from the surface by applying a quartz prism coupler). In both cases the optical emission from the sample facet exhibits narrow polarization-resolved transverse electric and transverse magnetic modes instead of the usual broad spectra characteristic of Si nanocrystals. This effect is explained by a theoretical model which identifies the microcavity-like peaks as leaking modes propagating below the waveguide/substrate boundary. We present also permanent changes induced by intense femtosecond laser exposure, which can be applied to write structures like gratings into the Si-nanocrystalline waveguides. Finally, we discuss the potential for application of these unconventional and relatively simple all-silicon nanostructures in future photonic devices.     

Styrene acrylonitrile (SAN) based polymeric waveguides

In the present study styrene acrylonitrile based polymeric waveguides have been optimized with the help of aging (variation of baking time keeping the temperature constant), annealing (variation of baking temperature keeping the time constant), concentration and thickness (physical). Propagation losses are lowest at an annealing temperature of 100°C and aging time of 8 h. The values of effective refractive index of the waveguides change inconsistently between 1.566 and 1.569 and between 1.5660 and 1.5667 for aging and annealing effect, respectively. However, by increasing the physical thickness of the film, the value of refractive index was decreased. By increasing the concentration of the solution, the refractive index of the waveguides was increased. The birefringence in the present observation is of the order of 10⁻⁴. Polarization selective properties were also observed in the present study for certain range of concentration.     

熔石英玻璃材料测试用折射液配制技术研究

为了对熔石英光学玻璃应力及光学均匀性进行测试,提出一种测试用高精度折射液配制方法。根据分子结构定量关系及组分的摩尔折光度定量可加的原理,推导了折射液配比公式并制定了折射液的配比工艺;分析了折射液的折射率随测试温度和测试波长不同的变化规律,并进行了实验验证;最后分析了折射液精度对测试结果的影响。通过上述方法在实验室环境配制出与熔石英折射率匹配精度为±2×10-5的折射液;通过对粗磨光学玻璃透射比实验表明,采用该方法配制的折射液对粗磨光学玻璃在450～700nm光谱范围内透射比从低于20%提高到97%以上;利用该方法和选用的成分配制的折射液具有毒性小、挥发性小、无色无味、长时间保存折射率保持性好的优点,可以很好地用于熔石英光学玻璃材料特性测试。     

Birefringent modifications induced by femtosecond filaments in optical glass

We present a study of the refractive index modifications spontaneously induced by infrared femtosecond filaments propagating in the bulk of transparent solids. It was found that extended modified refractive index channels up to several mm in length can be formed under loose focusing conditions in fused silica. The observed birefringence zone at the beginning of these channels is attributed to the anisotropic stress induced via nonlinear losses in the high intensity region of the filament.     

Surface defects,stress evolution,and laser damage enhancement mechanism of fused silica under oxygen-enriched condition

Oxygen ions (O⁺) were implanted into fused silica at a fixed fluence of 1×10¹⁷ ions/cm² with different ion energies ranging from 10 keV to 60 keV. The surface roughness, optical properties, mechanical properties and laser damage performance of fused silica were investigated to understand the effect of oxygen ion implantation on laser damage resistance of fused silica. The ion implantation accompanied with sputtering effect can passivate the sub-/surface defects to reduce the surface roughness and improve the surface quality slightly. The implanted oxygen ions can combine with the structural defects (ODCs and E' centers) to reduce the defect densities and compensate the loss of oxygen in fused silica surface under laser irradiation. Furthermore, oxygen ion implantation can reduce the Si-O-Si bond angle and densify the surface structure, thus introducing compressive stress in the surface to strengthen the surface of fused silica. Therefore, the laser induced damage threshold of fused silica increases and the damage growth coefficient decreases when ion energy up to 30 keV. However, at higher ion energy, the sputtering effect is weakened and implantation becomes dominant, which leads to the surface roughness increase slightly. In addition, excessive energy aggravates the breaking of Si-O bonds. At the same time, the density of structural defects increases and the compressive stress decreases. These will degrade the laser laser-damage resistance of fused silica. The results indicate that oxygen ion implantation with appropriate ion energy is helpful to improve the damage resistance capability of fused silica components.     

Optical waveguide effect of thermally tampered sheet and plate glasses—application to surface stress measurements

Sheet and plate glasses have refractive index inhomogeneity parallel with their surfaces. Refractive index maxima near the surfaces behave as optical waveguides. Light waves can be excited in the guides from outside and can be extracted non-destructively, using the technique popular in optical integrated circuits. Stress birefringence, caused by surface stress in thermally tempered glasses, gives different effective indices for two linearly polarized light beams which vibrate in directions vertical to and in parallel with the surfaces. Effective index observation by two polarized light beams allows non-destructive surface stress determination.     

声双折射法研究再结晶退火处理对45#钢微观组织的影响

本文在研究超声测试应力的过程中为了减小材料组织结构以及残余应力对应力测试结果的影响,对45#钢试样进行再结晶退火热处理,并用超声双折射法研究试样的再结晶退火组织,分析其微观组织和各向异性。实验结果表明,试样中横波声速随其偏振化方向改变而变化,存在声速快轴和慢轴且两者相互垂直;试样经650℃炉温,保温40分钟炉冷再结晶退火热处理后,声各向异性因子小,表现出材料微观组织均匀,晶粒细,各向异性小,并与金相实验结果一致。     

Control of femtosecond laser written waveguides in silica glass

Writing conditions for the fabrication of optical waveguides in bulk fused silica glass by use of 1 kHz focused femtosecond laser pulses at 800 nm were systematically determined for different focusing geometries. The results demonstrate that waveguides can be formed based on optical breakdown, filamentation (single or multiple), or a combination of both processes, when using pulse energies lower than the threshold of structural damage. The mechanisms of laser-induced index change are also discussed. PACS 42.65.Jx; 42.70.Ce; 42.79.Gn     

Phase-matched four-photon mixing processes in birefringent fibers

We describe several new phase-matching processes for four-photon mixing in polarization-preserving birefringent fibers. The frequency shifts and polarization conditions of the waves involved in this nonlinear interaction are specified for a single-mode fused silica birefringent fiber. Our calculations include the effect of dispersion in the birefringence of the fibers.