Ion implantation induced photosensitivity in Ge-doped silica: Effect of induced defects on refractive index changes

Planar germanosilicate thin film glasses grown by flame hydrolysis technique on silica substrate have been implanted at 5 MeV with silicon ions to a dose of 10(14) ions/cm(2), Samples were subsequently exposed to a series of KrF (5 eV) and ArF (6.4 eV) excimer laser irradiation. Optical absorption and electron spin resonance were measured before and after each series of irradiation. We report an important refractive index change that can be correlated with the photobleaching of the ion implantation induced absorption bands. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.