Swift and heavy ion implanted chalcogenide laser glass waveguides and their different refractive index distributions

Planar waveguides have been fabricated in Nd- or Ho-doped gallium lanthanum sulfide laser glasses by 60 MeV Ar or 20 MeV N ion implantation. The refractive index profiles were reconstructed based on the results of prism coupling. The Ar implanted waveguides exhibit an approximate steplike distribution, while the N implanted ones show a "well + barrier" type. This difference can be attributed to the much lower dose of Ar ions. After annealing, the N implanted waveguides can support two modes at 1539 nm and have low propagation loss, which makes them candidates for novel waveguide lasers.