Ultra-smooth lithium niobate photonic micro-structures by surface tension reshaping.
Annealing of micro-structured lithium niobate substrates at temperatures close to, but below the melting point, allows surface tension to reshape preferentially melted surface zones of the crystal. The reshaped surface re-crystallizes upon cooling to form a single crystal again as it is seeded by the bulk which remains solid throughout the process. This procedure yields ultra-smooth single crystal superstructures suitable for the fabrication of photonic micro-components with low scattering loss.
Ying
Charlie Y J
CY
Optoelectronics Research Centre, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, S017 1BJ, UK. yoy@orc.soton.ac.uk
Sones
Collin L
CL
Peacock
Anna C
AC
Johann
Florian
F
Soergel
Elisabeth
E
Eason
Robert W
RW
Zervas
Mikhail N
MN
Mailis
Sakellaris
S
D006244:Hardness; D008422:Materials Testing; D008904:Miniaturization; D009556:Niobium; D010087:Oxides / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D017785:Photons; D012031:Refractometry; D013500:Surface Tension
D010087:Oxides; D009556:Niobium; C091692:lithium niobate