Waveguides consisting of single-crystal lithium niobate thin film and oxidized titanium stripe

Strip-loaded waveguides were fabricated by the direct oxidation of a titanium film based on the single-crystal lithium niobate. The method avoided the surface roughness problems that are normally introduced during dry etching of waveguide sidewalls. Propagation modes of the composite strip waveguide were analyzed by a full-vectorial finite difference method. The minimum dimensions of the propagation modes were calculated to be 0.7 mu m(2) and 1.1 mu m(2) for quasi-TM mode and quasi-TE mode at 1550 nm when the thickness of the LN layer and TiO2 strip was 660 nm and 95 nm, respectively. The optical intensity was as high as 93% and was well confined in the LN layer for quasi-TM polarization. In this experiment, the propagation losses for the composite strip waveguide with 6 mu m wide TiO2 were 14 dB/cm for quasi-TM mode and 5.8 dB/cm for quasi-TE mode, respectively. The compact hybrid structures have the potential to be utilized for compact photonic integrated devices. (C) 2015 Optical Society of America