Low-loss planar and stripe waveguides in [Nd.sup.3+]-doped silicate glass produced by oxygen-ion implantation

A prism coupling arrangement is used to investigate the fabrication and characterization of low-loss planar and stripe waveguides in a [Nd.sup.3+]-doped silicate glass, which is produced by employing the oxygen-ion implantation technique. The analysis reveals that the propagation losses of the waveguides are highly reduced due to annealing, as the ion beam processing leads to the development of a refractive index enhanced region, in addition to an optical barrier.