PROCESS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF PROTON-EXCHANGED WAVEGUIDES

摘要

A process for the manufacture of proton-exchanged waveguides for multifunction integrated optics chips ("MIOC's") includes the steps of (a) providing a wafer of a material such as lithium niobate; (b) affixing a removable mask to at least one surface of the wafer to form one or more proton-exchange patterns of desired size and shape on the surface of the wafer; (c) subjecting the unmasked portions of the masked wafer to a proton-exchange procedure for a period of time less than a predetermined maximum proton exchange time; (d) analyzing the masked wafer to determine if a specified parameter of the unmasked portions has achieved a first predetermined value; (e) repeating the proton exchange step and the masked wafer analysis step until the first predetermined value has been achieved; (f) removing the mask or mask pattern from the wafer; (g) thermally annealing the wafer for a period of time less than a maximum annealing time; (h) analyzing the unmasked wafer to determine if the specified parameter of the wafer has achieved a second predetermined value; and (i) repeating the annealing step and the unmasked wafer analysis step until the second predetermined value has been achieved. In a preferred embodiment, the proton exchange step is performed by treating the wafer in a melt comprising benzoic acid, the specified parameter is the depth of proton diffusion below the surface of the wafer, and the analysis steps include the use of prism coupling.