Growth and optical waveguide fabrication in spinel MgGa2O4 crystal

We report on optical waveguide fabrication in a spinel MgGa2O4 crystal by 6.0 MeV carbon ion implantation at a fluence of 2 × 1015 ions/cm2 for the first time to our knowledge. The MgGa2O4 crystal was grown by the floating zone method. The refractive index profile reconstructed by reflectivity calculation method showed that the MgGa2O4 waveguide is a typical barrier waveguide. The typical barrier-shaped refractive index profile is attributed mainly to the nuclear energy deposition of the incident carbon ions into the MgGa2O4 crystal. By performing end-coupling measurements and using the beam propagation method (BPM) for the analysis of the observed modes, it can be concluded that the modes can be confined inside the waveguide.