Thin Film Epitaxial Oxide Optical Waveguides

Abstract

AbstractOne of the most challenging applications of ferroelectric thin films is the formation of technologically practical optical waveguideing devices, particularly in the context of a dynamically changing environment where competing light sources and optical materials simultaneously undergo rapid improvement. In order to assess the prospects of this technology, a fundamental understanding of waveguide loss is being pieced together. This includes the relative contributions of surface scattering, and grain boundary scattering to optical losses. With computational models, it is possible to predict the surface losses from measured topographic data. This tool provides a method to probe the residual effects of grain boundaries, defects and impurities on optical losses. A comparative anatomy of various thin film structures and their loss characteristics will be provided in the context of these experiments.