Optical waveguides in laser crystals

This article reviews the recent research on different types of planar and channel crystalline optical waveguides, fabrication methods such as liquid phase epitaxy, pulsed laser deposition, thermal bonding, reactive ion or ion beam etching, wet chemical etching, ion in-diffusion, proton exchange, ion beam implantation, and femtosecond laser writing, as well as waveguide laser operation of rare-earth and transition-metal ions in oxide crystalline materials such as Al₂O₃, Y₃Al₅O₁₂, YAlO₃, KY(WO₄)₂, and LiNbO₃. To cite this article: M. Pollnau, Y.E. Romanyuk, C. R. Physique 8 (2007).