Structural Characterization of Proton Exchanged Linbo3 Optical Wave-guides

This paper reports the results of structural analysis of proton-exchanged lithium niobate optical waveguides fabricated in Z-, X-, and Y-cut substrates immersed in pure benzoic acid. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, nuclear reactions, secondary ion mass spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction were used to measure atomic composition profiles and the marked lattice distortion induced by the proton exchange process in the waveguiding layer. H and Li concentration measurements indicate an exchange of about 70% of the Li atoms are present in the virgin LiNbO3 crystal.