Theoretical investigations on optical properties of magneto-optical thin film on ion-exchanged glass waveguide

•We model two kinds of magneto-optic matrix (SiO2/TiO2 and SiO2/ZrO2).•We examine changes in the birefringence in structure on ion-exchanged glass.•We find the structure that gives rise to the best mode confinement.•Increasing the refractive index will decrease the quality of mode confinement.

In this work, we report on the theoretical study of magneto-optical waveguides on an ion-exchanged glass waveguide, this latter is made by sol–gel process and doped with magnetic nanoparticles with two kinds of matrix (SiO2/TiO2 and SiO2/ZrO2). The mode propagation and the lateral light confinement for both polarizations TE and TM are simulated using software based on a film mode matching method. We propose from those results magneto-optical waveguides on ion-exchanged glass waveguide geometries for optical integrated applications.