Proton-exchanged LiNbO/sub 3/ optical waveguides using stearic acid

Proton-exchanged optical waveguides have been fabricated in z-cut LiNbO/sub 3/ using a new proton source: stearic acid. These waveguides were characterized optically and were found to exhibit a step index profile with Delta n=0.118 measured at 0.633 mu m. The propagation losses were typically around 1.5 dB/cm, and the diffusion constant and the activation energy for the proton-exchange process were measured to be 5*10/sup 6/ mu m/sup 2//h and 69 kJ/mol, respectively.>