Characterization of active waveguides fabricated by ultralow-fluence swift heavy ion irradiation in lithium niobate crystals

We report on the fabrication of neodymium-doped lithium niobate active planar waveguides based on the generation of non-overlapping nano-tracks by ultralow-fluence swift heavy ions. A combination of confocal luminescence, Raman and surface second harmonic investigations have evidenced the simultaneous presence of partial amorphization, damage and local compression of the lithium niobate network along the ion path, with these effects being at the basis of the refractive index modification. The potential application of the obtained waveguides in multi-functional laser devices has been discussed.