Epitaxially grown zinc oxide films for electro-optic and acousto-optic interactions

Measurements of acoustic surface waves (ASW) and optical guided waves (OGW) wave properties have been carried out on chemical vapor deposited (CVD) epitaxial zinc oxide (ZnO) films on sapphire (Al₂O₃) substrates of different orientations. Surface preparation and orientation effects have been studied. Untuned acoustic insertion loss of 40 dB at 160 MHz and optical propagation loss of better than 5 dB/cm at 6328Å for the TE₀ mode were obtained in a 2μm thick (11$\text{2}$4) ZnO film deposited on a (0001) sapphire substrate.