Thermally Resilient Planar Waveguides in Novel nc-YSZ Transparent Ceramic by fs Laser Pulses

Abstract

We report on thermally resilient planar waveguides fabricated on nc-YSZ by direct fs-laser inscription in transparent nc-yttria stabilized zirconia (nc-YSZ) polycrystalline ceramic. The waveguides consisted of rectangular sections (4.5 × 2 mm2) on the surface of the sample. Optical characterization at 633 and 810 nm was performed. We estimate a laser-induced refractive index contrast of 10–4. Post-waveguide-fabrication thermal annealing treatments at 750°C for 24 h were carried out to test the resilience of the waveguides and to further reduce the waveguide losses. Both micro-Raman spectroscopy and XPS characterization revealed unmodified lattice and steady chemical features, which are consistent with the waveguide thermal resilience. Our results suggest a promising potential use of nc-YSZ in harsh and high temperature demanding photonic environments.