Production of waveguides in LiF by MeV ion bombardment

Alkali fluorides containing color centers are promising systems for applications in new integrated optical devices like active waveguides and color center lasers. In this work, we report the development of a simple method, based on high-energy ion beam irradiation, to create active waveguides in alkali halide materials. MeV carbon and helium beams at normal incidence were used to irradiate lithium fluoride crystals, with different ion doses varying from 1014 up to 1016 cm−2, producing thin colored strips. Irradiated waveguides were also characterized by means of optical absorption spectroscopy in order to obtain the distribution of the color centers induced by the ion beam. The results confirm the feasibility of integrated active devices based on color centers in LiF such as tunable light amplifiers, lasers and hybrid optoelectronic components.