We report the fabrication of optical channel waveguides in congruent lithium niobate single crystals by direct writing with continuous-wave ultraviolet frequency-doubled Ar+ laser radiation (244 nm). The properties and performance of such waveguides are investigated, and first results are presented.

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We report the formation of directionally-ordered nanoscale surface domains on the +z face of undoped congruent lithium niobate single crystals by using UV illumination through a phase mask of sub-micron periodicity with an energy fluence between ~90 mJ/cm 2 and 150 mJ/cm 2 at λ=266 nm. We clearly show here that the UV-induced surface ferroelectric domains only nucleate at and propagate along maxima of laser intensity. Although the domain line separation varies and is greater than 2µm for this set of experimental conditions, this enables a degree of control over the all-optical poling process.

We report on a direct ultraviolet ͑UV͒ writing method for the fabrication of channel waveguides at 1.55 m in LiNbO 3 through UV irradiation of surface and buried planar waveguides made by annealed proton exchange and reverse proton exchange. A systematic study of the guidance properties as a function of the UV writing conditions is presented.

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