Proton-implanted optical channel waveguides in Nd : YAG laser ceramics

We report on the fabrication of optical channel waveguides in Nd : YAG ceramics by multi-energy proton implantation at a total dose of 8 × 10 16 ions cm −2 . The modal distribution of the guided modes obtained from numerical calculation was in good agreement with the experimental result. The propagation loss of the waveguide was determined to be ∼4 dB cm −1 after post-annealing up to 400 °C in air. Confocal micro-photoluminescence experiments have revealed relevant changes in the Nd spectroscopic properties in the waveguide's active volume. These changes include line broadening and shifting as well as a clear luminescence quenching, which were attributed to the strong structural modifications induced by the high-dose proton implantation.