Microfabrication of LiNbO3 by Reactive Ion-Beam Etching

The ratio of the etching rate of LiNbO3 to AZ1350 at normal incidence for CHF3 ion is about 5 times as large as that for Ar ion. This high ratio is utilized to fabricate LiNbO3 blazed gratings and also LiNbO3 guided wave optical elements such as grating couplers to demonstrate that reactive ion-beam etching is a very useful microfabrication technique for LiNbO3.