Formation and Guiding Properties of the He + ‐Implanted Nd 3+ ‐Doped Silicate Glass Waveguide

ABSTRACT Optical waveguides can be used to confine and propagate optical signals. In this study, an optical waveguide was formed by helium ion implantation with an energy of 400 keV and a dose of 6 × 10 16 ions/cm 2 in the Nd 3+ ‐doped silicate glass. The morphology was examined using a microscope to record its shape. The dark‐mode spectrum and corresponding effective refractive indices of the He + ‐implanted Nd 3+ ‐doped silicate glass waveguide were measured at 632.8 nm by the prism coupling technique. The energy loss, projected range, and longitudinal straggling of the irradiated helium ions were derived by the SRIM 2013 package. The near‐field light intensity profile for the He + ‐ irradiated Nd 3+ ‐doped silicate glass waveguide was measured by the end‐face coupling system, which is the first observation compared with earlier works. The optical properties of the waveguide suggest that it is a promising candidate for integrated optics systems.