Low-loss LiNbO(3) tapered-ridge waveguides made by optical-grade dicing.

We report on low-loss vertical tapers for efficient coupling between confined LiNbO3 optical ridge waveguides and Single Mode Fibers. 3D-Pseudo-Spectral-Time-Domain calculations and Optical-Coherence-Tomography-based methods are advantageously used for the numerical and experimental study of the tapers. The tapered-section is done simultaneously with the ridge waveguide by means of a circular precision dicing saw, so that the fabrication procedure is achieved in only two steps. The total insertion losses through a 1.6 cm long ridge waveguide are measured to be improved by 3 dB in presence of the taper. These tapered-ridge waveguides open the way to the low-cost production of low-loss phase modulators or resonators.

[1]  N. Courjal,et al.  Strong reduction of propagation losses in LiNbO3 ridge waveguides , 2014 .

[2]  Sasan Fathpour,et al.  Heterogeneous lithium niobate photonics on silicon substrates. , 2013, Optics express.

[3]  K Mitsunaga,et al.  Optical LiNbO(3) 3-branched waveguide and its application to a 4-port optical switch. , 1980, Applied optics.

[4]  Richard M. Osgood,et al.  Fabrication of single-crystal lithium niobate films by crystal ion slicing , 1998 .

[5]  Nadège Courjal,et al.  Optimization of LiNbO₃ photonic crystals: toward 3D LiNbO₃ micro-components. , 2011, Optics express.

[6]  Y. Y. Lin,et al.  Light-enhanced electro-optic spectral tuning in annealed proton-exchanged periodically poled lithium niobate channel waveguides. , 2006, Optics letters.

[7]  Feng-Lei Hong,et al.  Efficient 494 mW sum-frequency generation of sodium resonance radiation at 589 nm by using a periodically poled Zn:LiNbO3 ridge waveguide. , 2009, Optics express.

[8]  Emiko Omoda,et al.  Silicon knife-edge taper waveguide for ultralow-loss spot-size converter fabricated by photolithography , 2013 .

[9]  Ivan P. Kaminow,et al.  Lithium niobate ridge waveguide modulator , 1974 .

[10]  F. Baida,et al.  6-micron interaction length electro-optic modulation based on lithium niobate photonic crystal cavity. , 2012, Optics express.

[11]  3D-PSTD simulation and polarization analysis of a light pulse transmitted through a scattering medium. , 2013, Optics express.

[12]  Peter Günter,et al.  Photonic crystal structures in ion-sliced lithium niobate thin films. , 2009, Optics express.

[13]  Qing Huo Liu,et al.  Review of PSTD methods for transient electromagnetics: Research Articles , 2004 .

[14]  Tzyy-Jiann Wang,et al.  Electro-optically tunable microring resonators on lithium niobate. , 2007, Optics letters.

[15]  Ivan P. Kaminow,et al.  Lithium niobate ridge waveguide modulator , 1974 .

[16]  Manuel Collet,et al.  Integrated temperature sensor based on an enhanced pyroelectric photonic crystal. , 2013, Optics express.

[17]  S. Kurimura,et al.  Quasi-phase-matched adhered ridge waveguide in LiNbO3 , 2006 .

[18]  Qing Huo Liu,et al.  Review of PSTD methods for transient electromagnetics , 2004 .