Abstract

Proton-exchange is a relatively low temperature process for fabricating optical waveguides in LiNbO₃⁽¹⁾ and, only recently, has been shown to produce low loss waveguiding material with a restored electrooptic effect^(2,3). The technique involves^(4,5) an ion exchange reaction between Li⁺ in the substrate and H⁺ from an acidic source, most commonly benzoic acid, resulting in the formation of Li_(1−x)H_xNbO₃.

© 1989 Optical Society of America