Z-Axis Propagation and the Avoidance of Optical Damage in Lithium Niobate Waveguides

Optical components based on lithium niobate waveguide circuits are being widely considered for high-speed switching, modulation, phase-shifting, computation, and signal processing tasks in optoelectronic systems. One potential performance limitation is due to the laser-induced optical degradations that occur during prolonged use. Waveguide fabrication process improvements can be applied, in conjunction with more modest laser power densities and longer laser wavelengths, to reduce or forestall such performance degradations. These methods, though important, may not be sufficient to solve the problem in many applications.