The doctoral dissertations of the former Helsinki University of Technology (TKK) and Aalto University Schools of Technology (CHEM, ELEC, ENG, SCI) published in electronic format are available in the electronic publications archive of Aalto University - Aaltodoc.
Aalto

Studies on Passive and Active Ion-Exchanged Glass Waveguides and Devices

Sanna Yliniemi

Dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Science in Technology to be presented with due permission of the Department of Electrical and Communications Engineering for public examination and debate in Auditorium TU2 at Helsinki University of Technology (Espoo, Finland) on the 4th of May, 2007, at 12 noon.

Overview in PDF format (ISBN 978-951-22-8756-7)   [835 KB]
Dissertation is also available in print (ISBN 978-951-22-8755-0)

Abstract

In this work, new techniques for planar lightwave circuits utilizing silver-sodium ion exchange are explored and developed. Self-diffusion coefficient of Ag+ ions and the ratio of the self-diffusion coefficients of Ag+ and Na+ ions are extracted for electric field assisted thin-film ion exchange in Schott IOG-1 phosphate glass. These are used to find the fabrication parameters for singlemode channel waveguides operating at 1550 nm wavelength region used in telecommunication networks. Birefringence properties of buried molten salt ion-exchanged waveguides are explored. It is shown that waveguides with zero birefringence can be obtained by properly adjusting the thermal annealing time. The effect of waveguide mask opening width on waveguide birefringence is investigated. Low birefringence, 10−5 or below, is demonstrated for both the even and odd mode.

Photosensitivity properties of both undoped and Er-Yb-codoped IOG-1 glass are studied. A new approach to fabricate waveguide Bragg gratings through UV exposure in IOG-1 glass is presented. High quality waveguide Bragg gratings with reflectivity of the order of 80% are demonstrated in undoped IOG-1 glass. Waveguide Bragg gratings with lower reflectivity (R ∼ 15%) are fabricated in Er-Yb-codoped IOG-1 glass. A singlemode waveguide laser utilizing this kind of a narrowband UV-written waveguide Bragg grating in hybrid IOG-1 glass is demonstrated. Also, the results of a material study of the effect of UV light exposure on this phosphate glass are presented.

In addition, multimode short cavity waveguide laser cavities are designed and fabricated for high repetition rate pulsed lasers. The possibility to utilize these waveguide lasers in modelocking and/or Q-switching applications is analyzed.

This thesis consists of an overview and of the following 6 publications:

  1. S. Yliniemi, J. Albert, and S. Honkanen, A study of silver-film ion-exchanged glass waveguides in phosphate glass, in Optical Components and Materials IV, Shibin Jiang and Michel J. F. Digonnet, eds., Proceedings of SPIE 6469, 64690Y (2007), 8 pages. © 2007 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). By permission.
  2. S. Yliniemi, S. Honkanen, A. Ianoul, A. Laronche, and J. Albert, Photosensitivity and volume gratings in phosphate glasses for rare-earth-doped ion-exchanged optical waveguide lasers, Journal of the Optical Society of America B 23, 2470-2478 (2006). © 2006 Optical Society of America (OSA). By permission.
  3. S. Yliniemi, B. R. West, and S. Honkanen, Ion-exchanged glass waveguides with low birefringence for a broad range of waveguide widths, Applied Optics 44, 3358-3363 (2005). © 2005 Optical Society of America (OSA). By permission.
  4. S. Yliniemi, J. Albert, A. Laronche, J. M. Castro, D. Geraghty, and S. Honkanen, Negligible birefringence in dual-mode ion-exchanged glass waveguide gratings, Applied Optics 45, 6602-6606 (2006). © 2006 Optical Society of America (OSA). By permission.
  5. S. Yliniemi, J. Albert, A. Laronche, Q. Wang, and S. Honkanen, Silver film ion-exchanged Er-doped waveguide lasers and photowritten waveguide gratings in phosphate glass, in Integrated Optics, Silicon Photonics, and Photonic Integrated Circuits, G. C. Righini, ed., Proceedings of SPIE 6183, 61830M (2006), 5 pages. © 2006 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). By permission.
  6. S. Yliniemi, J. Albert, Q. Wang, and S. Honkanen, UV-exposed Bragg gratings for laser applications in silver-sodium ion-exchanged phosphate glass waveguides, Optics Express 14, 2898-2903 (2006). © 2006 Optical Society of America (OSA). By permission.

Keywords: ion exchange, waveguide, waveguide laser, phosphate glass, photosensitivity, Bragg grating

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© 2007 Helsinki University of Technology

Last update 2011-05-26