Effects of swift argon-ion irradiation on the proton-exchanged LiNbO3 crystal

A proton-exchanged LiNbO3 crystal was subjected to 70-MeV argon-ion irradiation.The lattice damage was investigated by the Rutherford backscattering and channeling technique.It was found that the lattice disorder induced by the proton exchange process was partially recovered and the proton-exchanged layer was broadened.It indicated that the lithium ions underneath the initial proton-exchanged layer migrated to the surface during the swift argon-ion irradiation and supplemented the lack of lithium ions in the initial proton-exchanged layer.This effect was ascribed to the great electronic energy deposition and relaxation.The swift argon-ion irradiation induced an increase in extraordinary refractive index and formed another waveguide structure beneath the proton-exchanged waveguide.     

1.5μm质子交换铌酸锂光波导TE0模偏振器

在１．５μｍ光波长，首次研制出质子交换铌酸锂光波导ＴＥ０模偏振器。器件由嵌在Ｔｉ扩散波导之间的一段质子交换波导构成，器件长度为２ｍｍ。实验测得，偏振器的消光比和带尾纤插入损耗分别为４２ｄＢ和４．３ｄＢ。     

Ultra-high-speed LiNbO3 modulators

This paper overviews ultra-high-speed optical modulators fabricated on LiNbO₃ substrate, which are used in large-capacity optical transmission systems.     

掺铁近化学配比铌酸锂晶体的紫外光致吸收和弛豫过程的研究

生长了系列掺杂低铁(质量分数分别为0×10-6,3×10-6,5×10-6,10×10-6,25×10-6,50×10-6、100×10-6)的近化学配比铌酸锂(SLN)晶体,测量了它们的紫外-可见光谱,并通过477nm处的线性吸收系数估算晶体中Fe2+和Fe3+的浓度。利用抽运(365nm)-探测(632.8nm)法测量不同掺杂浓度晶体光致吸收的动态过程和稳态特性,结果表明光致吸收是以扩展指数的形式衰减的,其衰减时间常数(即小极化子的寿命)随掺杂浓度和抽运光强增加而减小,扩展指数因子随抽运光强的增加而减少。根据电子的输运方程,利用四阶龙格-库塔方法对电子输运过程进行数值求解,模拟了掺铁铌酸锂(Fe:SLN)晶体的光致吸收的全过程,与实验所得结果符合得很好。     

95 GHz TE03模回旋管内置渐变波导设计

在耦合波理论的基础上,结合波导渐变曲线给出了普适高阶渐变波导设计方法,研究了95 GHz回旋管内置 TE03模式改进Dolph-Chebychev渐变波导。采用编制的数值计算程序进行优化,得到了可靠的最优几何参量,设计出了紧凑的95 GHz渐变波导。经全电磁场仿真验证,该内置渐变输出结构对杂模的抑制达30 dB,满足设计要求。回旋管的热测实验中测出的模式样图表明,所设计的内置渐变波导有效地实现了回旋管内径变化。该方法可以高效地指导高阶过模圆波导渐变结构的设计。     

Mid-infrared generation based on a periodically poled LiNbO3 optical parametric oscillator

We report a nanosecond Nd:YVO_4-pumped optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based on periodically poled LiNbO_3 (PPLN). Tuning is achieved in this experiment by varying the temperature and period of the PPLN. The design of double-pass singly resonant oscillator (DSRO) and confocal cavity enables the OPO threshold to be lowered considerably, resulting in a simple, compact, all-solid-state configuration with the mid-infrared idler powers of up to 466mW at 3.41μm.     

Study on UV-light-induced absorption in LiNbO3:Fe, Co crystal

##正##In this paper,the temporary UV-light-induced absorption in LiNbO_3:Fe,Co crystal is investigated for different UV intensities.It is found that the sensitizing process in LiNbO_3:Fe,Co can be considered as a combination of two sub-processes with different time constants.Based on the lattice structure and the photochromic mechanism of the material,the two sub-processes are suggested to arise from electron transfer from O~(2-) to Fe~(3+) through two paths with different distances.The two-colour recording experiment in LiNbO_3:Fe,Co is also preformed by using UV and green light as gating and writing beams respectively.High sensitivity is obtained in the recording,which is considered as the consequence of direct charge transfer from O~(2-) to Fe~(3+).     

极化子荧光及其断层扫描对Ti:LiNbO3光波导表征研究

小极化子(Nb⁴⁺_Li)荧光处于700—950 nm谱段，对不同化学还原程度同组分的纯铌酸锂晶体的研究表明荧光的强度反映了化学还原程度的强弱.从小极化子浅层能级出发，提出以“1中心3级态跃迁”来描述小极化子的受激荧光过程.钛扩散铌酸锂光波导(Ti：LiNbO₃)表面还原程度的均匀性可能在波导制造的热扩散过程中被破坏.在对铌酸锂波导表面、深部的扫描结果中，荧光的强度呈现出表面与深部、波导内与外的差异，表面的强度是深部的6—8倍.研究表明，利用非损伤性的极化子荧光谱，对加工过程热处理进行检控是非常有效的.同时，波导内与外的荧光强度差异间接反映了波导的横切面的外形.     

Low-threshold, high-efficiency, high-repetition-rate optical parametric generator based on periodically poled LiNbO3

We report a high-repetition-rate optical parametric generator (OPG) with a periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystal pumped by an acousto-optically Q-switched CW-diode-end-pumped Nd:YVO_4 laser. For the maximum 1064nm pump power of 970mW, the maximum conversion efficiency is 32.9% under the conditions of 250℃, 1064nm pulse repetition rate of 22.6kHz and pulse width of 12ns, and the PPLN OPG threshold in the collinear case is less than 23.7μJ. The output power increases with the increase of the crystal temperature. The 1485－1553nm signal wave and 3383－3754nm idler wave are obtained by changing the temperature and the angle of the PPLN crystal.     

Integrated Mach-Zehnder micro-interferometer on LiNbO3

This work presents a scanning micro-interferometer, without moving parts, based on the well-known Mach-Zehnder geometry. The micro-system was obtained by using non-standard processes of planar technology on lithium niobate crystals, in particular the waveguide fabrication was obtained by using high energy ion implantation of medium light mass elements. The scanning effect without moving parts has been obtained by changing the refractive index of the optical waveguides by using electric field. The whole device is 60 mm long with a 0.5×1 mm² cross section, weights only few grams and its power consumption lies in the milliwatt range. The performances were preliminary tested in the spectral window ranging from 0.4 to 1.0 μm. By using standard radiation sources, this micro-system demonstrated a spectral resolution suitable for detecting the characteristic spectral lines of a Xe-arc lamp on a 400 nm wide spectral window. In a further experiment we tested the performances of the microinterferometer for gas trace detection by using a calibrated NO₂ optical gas cell. A sensitivity of about 10 ppb for NO₂ detection, when suitable optical paths are used, was evaluated.     

铌酸锂薄膜调制器的研究进展

铌酸锂薄膜调制器具有体积小、带宽高、半波电压低的优点,在光纤通讯和光纤传感领域具有重要应用价值,是近年来的研究热点。本文梳理了铌酸锂薄膜调制器的波导结构、耦合结构、电极结构的研究进展,总结了LN薄膜波导的制备工艺,并深入分析了不同结构调制器的性能。基于SOI和LNOI结构,薄膜调制器实现了V_πL<2 V·cm,双锥形耦合方案实现了耦合损耗<0.5 dB/facet,行波电极结构实现了调制带宽>100 GHz。铌酸锂薄膜调制器的性能在大多数方面优于目前商用铌酸锂调制器,随着波导工艺进一步提升,将成为铌酸锂调制器的热门方案。最后对铌酸锂薄膜调制器的发展趋势和应用前景进行了展望。     

Period and temperature tuning of cascaded opticalparametric oscillator based on periodically poled LiNbO3

We report the broadly tunable source by a cascaded optical parametric oscillator in the periodically poled LiNbO_3 (PPLN) with domain grating period and temperature tuning. The optical parametric oscillator was pumped by a passive Q-switched Nd:YVO_4 laser. Multi-wavelength outputs from visible to infrared were obtained. The temperature of the PPLN crystal changed within the range of 70－150℃ with different periods of PPLN. The tunable range covered from 433 to 1657nm.     

Micro-Raman analysis on LiNbO3 substrates and surfaces: Compositional homogeneity and effects of etching and polishing processes on structural properties

In this work we report on micro-Raman analysis on lithium niobate (LN) substrates in order to study the compositional homogeneity of the crystals and to clear up the effects of etching and polishing processes on the surface of wafers and crystals.The fact that the linewidth of some Raman modes scale with the composition of LN crystals, together with the use of a confocal microscope, allowed a three-dimensional determination of the sample stoichiometry and of the crystalline quality. This local tool can supply additional information, which can be complementary to the electro-optic coefficients, carefully measured as well in order to check functional parameters.Raman spectra from buried regions were obtained on as-grown, etched and polished crystals and wafers. The depth profile of the peak energy and the linewidth of the Raman mode at 872 cm⁻¹ indicate that mechanical processing of surfaces causes, in some cases, structural modifications till a depth of 15 μm.     

Nonvolatile holographic storage in triply doped LiNbO3: Hf, Fe, Mn crystals

It has been suggested to use LiNbO3:Fe,Mn crystal for solving the problem of information volatility during the read-out process with all-optical facilities,but the minute order response time is far from the requirements for the real-time information processing.We present the nonvolatile holographic storage properties of LiNbO3:Hf,Fe,Mn.The response time is shortened to 5.0 s,and the sensitivity S is enhanced to 0.22 cm/J in this triply doped crystal.The experimental results show that the HfO2 doping threshold is 5.0 mol.%.Thus it seems that we have found a useful tetravalent dopant for LiNbO3:Fe,Mn that can obviously improve the nonvolatile holographic recording sensitivity.     

一种电光可调的铌酸锂/钠基表面等离子体定向耦合器

为了满足日益增加的集成光子器件设计的需求,本文研究了一种铌酸锂/钠表面等离子体波导(Li Nb O3/Na surface plasmonic waveguide, LNSPW),并利用LNSPW构成电光可调的定向耦合器(directional coupling,DC).利用有限元方法 (finite element method, FEM)对波导的模式特性和耦合器的耦合特性进行了分析.结果表明,随着波导尺寸的增大,传播长度可达约200μm,归一化有效模场面积小于0.4.通过调节耦合间距(W_gap)、耦合长度(L_C)和工作波长(λ)等参数,铌酸锂钠表面等离子体波导构建的定向耦合结构可实现3 d B耦合.当W_gap=100 nm和L_C=17μm时, DC在V₀=53 V时可实现3 d B耦合,且具有较好的方向性和隔离度.LNSPW的研究为实现可调的DC提供了一种可行的方案,在集成电光可调器件研究领域有潜在的应用前景.除此之外, LNSPW还可广泛应用于非线性光学、光信号处理及光全...     

Ultraviolet photorefractive effect in Mg-doped near-stoichiometric LiNbO3

The ultraviolet photorefractive effect of Mg-doped near-stoichiometric LiNbO₃ crystals prepared by vapor transport equilibration (VTE) technique was studied at 351 nm. It was found in the near-stoichiometric LiNbO₃ crystals that the ultraviolet photorefractive effect could be enhanced greatly with the increase of Mg concentration. Based on the activation energy of dark decay of the photorefractive grating, possible centers responsible for the ultraviolet photorefractive effect were also discussed.     

Optical waveguide with homogeneous refractive index profile in LiNbO3 by double-low-energy Oxygen ion implantation

We report on the formation of the planar waveguide by 550 keV O ion followed by 250 keV O ion implantation in lithium niobate (LiNbO₃), at fluences of 6 × 10¹⁴ ions/cm² and 3 × 10¹⁴ ions/cm², respectively. The Rutherford backscattering/channeling spectra have shown the atomic displacements in the damage region before and after annealing. A broad and nearly homogeneous damage layer has been formed by double-energy ion implantation after annealing. Both the dark mode spectra and the data of refractive index profile verified that the extraordinary refractive index was enhanced in the ion implanted region of LiNbO₃. A homogeneous near-field intensity profile was obtained by double-low-energy ion implantation. There is a reasonable agreement between the simulated modal intensity profile and the experimental data. The estimated propagation loss is about 0.5 dB/cm.     

Compact efficient optical parametric generator internal to a Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser with periodically poled MgO:LiNbO3

This paper demonstrates a compact efficient optical parametric generator internal to a Q-switched diode-end-pumped Nd:YVOquasi-phase-matching, intracavity optical parametric generator, periodically poled MgO-doped lithium niobate (PPMgLN)Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos 10474071 and 60671036).4265K, 4260F, 4270This paper demonstrates a compact efficient optical parametric generator internal to a Q-switched diode-end-pumped Nd:YVOquasi-phase-matching, intracavity optical parametric generator, periodically poled MgO-doped lithium niobate (PPMgLN)Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos 10474071 and 60671036).4265K, 4260F, 4270This paper demonstrates a compact efficient optical parametric generator internal to a Q-switched diode-end-pumped Nd:YVOquasi-phase-matching, intracavity optical parametric generator, periodically poled MgO-doped lithium niobate (PPMgLN)Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos 10474071 and 60671036).4265K, 4260F, 4270This paper demonstrates a compact efficient optical parametric generator internal to a Q-switched diode-end-pumped Nd:YVOquasi-phase-matching, intracavity optical parametric generator, periodically poled MgO-doped lithium niobate (PPMgLN)Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos 10474071 and 60671036).4265K, 4260F, 4270This paper demonstrates a compact efficient optical parametric generator internal to a Q-switched diode-end-pumped Nd:YVOquasi-phase-matching, intracavity optical parametric generator, periodically poled MgO-doped lithium niobate (PPMgLN)Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos 10474071 and 60671036).4265K, 4260F, 4270This paper demonstrates a compact efficient optical parametric generator internal to a Q-switched diode-end-pumped Nd:YVO$_{4}$ laser with periodically poled MgO:LiNbO₃(PPMgLN). With the Q-switch set at a repetition rate of 25kHz and the PPMgLN crystal operated at room temperature (25\du\,), the intracavity optical parametric generator threshold was reached as a diode pump power of 0.9\,W. A maximum signal output power of 0.34W with a pulse width of 25\,ns and a beam quality factor of 1.4 was obtained at an incident diode power of 3.4\,W, leading to a conversion efficiency of 10{\%} with a slope efficiency of 14.4{\%}. By varying the crystal temperature from 25 to 200\du, the output signal wavelengths were tuned in range of 1506--1565\,nm. Over a 30-minutes interval, the instability of the signal power was measured to be less than 1{\%}. In addition, the threshold pump intensity for the intracavity optical parametric generator is theoretically investigated, and the obtained result is in good agreement with the experimental results.     

Near-stoichiometric Ti:LiNbO3 strip waveguide with varied substrate refractive index in waveguide layer

We report the near-stoichiometric Ti:LiNbO3 strip waveguides fabricated by vapour transport equilibration (VTE) at 1060 C for 12 h and co-diffusion of 4-8 μm wide, 115-nm thick Ti-strips. Optical studies show that these waveguides are monomode at 1.5 μm and have losses of 1.3 and 1.1 dB/cm for the TM and TE modes, respectively. In the waveguide width/depth direction, the mode field follows a Gauss/Hermite-Gauss profile. A secondary ion mass spectrometry study reveals that the Ti profile follows a sum of two error functions along the width direction and a complementary error function in the depth direction. Micro-Raman analysis shows that the Li-composition in the depth direction also follows a complementary error function. The mean Li/Nb ratio in the waveguide layer is about 0.98. The inhomogeneous Li-composition profile results in a varied substrate index in the guiding layer, and the refractive index profile in the guiding layer is given.     

Confocal micro-luminescence of Zn-diffused LiNbO3:Tm channel waveguides

Zinc-diffused channel waveguides fabricated in thulium-doped LiNbO₃ have been analyzed by means of confocal micro-luminescence techniques. Modifications induced by Zn²⁺ ions in the doped-crystal substrate are characterized following the evolution of the ³H₄→³H₆ luminescence of thulium ions at 795 nm, showing the existence of two different regions in the waveguide. Several Raman modes of LiNbO₃ have been used as well to study the differences between the waveguide and the bulk material.