Growth and characterization of pulsed laser deposited lead germanate glass optical waveguides

Lead germanate thin films have been grown on BK7 and silica substrates, using pulsed excimer laser deposition (PLD) at wavelengths of 193 and 248 nm, from a bulk lead germanate target under various partial pressures of oxygen. The films produced vary in colour from brown, through clear, to yellow, and a parametric study has been undertaken of the film properties as a function of the growth conditions. The measured losses of the lead germanate films grown on glass substrates varied from ~ 2.5 to 7 dB /cm depending on the oxygen partial pressure used.