Characterization of proton-exchanged and annealed planar optical lithium tantalate waveguides

Planar z-cut LiTaO;A step function was found to accurately model the index profile after proton-exchange. Empirical equations relating the waveguide depth ;The generalized Gaussian function can be used to accurately model the index profile throughout annealing. Empirical equations relating the depth d and the surface index increase ;Proton-exchange with buffered melts offer the possibility of fabricating waveguides with index profiles that are not possible if using concentrated melts.