Fabrication of periodically poled swift ion-irradiation waveguides in LiNbO₃

Periodically poled swift-ion irradiated waveguides have been prepared following two different methods: i) Ion irradiation of two types of periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN), that is, Czochralski off-centred grown PPLN and external electrical field PPLN. After the ion irradiation, the domain structure of the original PPLN was preserved and the waveguides were also proved functional. ii) Electric periodical poling of previously fabricated swift-ion irradiated waveguides. The periodic polarization of the ion irradiated waveguide was achieved for the first time to our knowledge. In both cases, the combination of PPLN with optical waveguide structures created by swift-ion irradiation, which have good nonlinear and electrooptical properties, and high optical confinement, gives rise to quite good candidates for nonlinear optical devices.