Optical characteristics of an oxyfluoride glass waveguide formed by a proton implantation

An optical waveguide was fabricated by H+ ion implantation with an energy of 400 keV and a dose of 8 × 1016 ions/cm2 in the oxyfluoride glass for the first time to the best of our knowledge. The dark mode spectra of the waveguide were measured by a prism coupling method before and after the thermal treatment. The number of modes was reduced after annealing. The implantation process of 400 keV H+ ions into the oxyfluoride glass was simulated by using the SRIM 2013 program. The refractive index distribution of the ion-implanted waveguide was reconstructed by the reflection calculation method. The refractive index was decreased in the waveguide region and there was an optical barrier with a reduced refractive index at the end of the ion range. The proton-implanted oxyfluoride glass waveguide is a desirable alternative for the fabrication of a compact optical integrated device.