Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-jbqgn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-22T23:43:36.223Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Growth of Nonlinear Optical Thin Films of KTa1−xNbxO3 on GaAs by Pulsed Laser Deposition for Integrated Optics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

L. A. Knauss
Affiliation:
Neocera, Inc., 10000 Virginia Manor Road, Suite 300, Beltsville, MD 20705
K. S. Harshavardhan
Affiliation:
Neocera, Inc., 10000 Virginia Manor Road, Suite 300, Beltsville, MD 20705
H. Y. Zhang
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21228
X. H. He
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21228
Y. H. Shih
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of Maryland Baltimore County, Baltimore, MD 21228
K. S. Grabowski
Affiliation:
Naval Research Laboratory, Code 6670, 4555 Overlook Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20375
D. L. Knies
Affiliation:
Naval Research Laboratory, Code 6670, 4555 Overlook Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20375
Get access

Abstract

Nonlinear optical films on GaAs and other III-V (AlGaAs, InGaAs) semiconducting substrates have many potential applications in integrated optics. Until now, the growth of device quality films on GaAs was a major technological challenge. Using Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD) epitaxial films of prototypical nonlinear KTa0.52Nb0.48O3 (KTN) were successfully deposited on single crystalline GaAs substrates for the first time. In order to alleviate chemical and structural incompatibilities between the GaAs substrate and KTN film at the growth temperature (∼750°C), a novel buffer layer scheme consisting of epitaxial MgO and SrTiO3 buffer layers and a Si3Ni4 encapsulation of the substrate was successfully developed. To obtain films with the required stoichiometry, a segmented target geometry was used consisting of KTN and KNO3 targets. The high crystalline quality of KTN films on GaAs was established by detailed 4-circle x-ray diffraction studies. Rutherford Backscattering studies confirmed the composition of the films. Optical measurements have been carried out on epitaxial KTN films on GaAs. Using an Ar+ laser (457.9 nm) operating in the TEM00 mode, we have observed sharp and distinguishable TE and TM propagating modes in KTN films. The refractive index (n0) of the film at 488 nm is 2.275 which is close to the bulk value of 2.35.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. Venkatesan, T. and Green, S.M., The Industrial Physicist 2(3), 22 (1996).Google Scholar
2. Pulsed Laser Deposition of Thin Films, edited by Chrisey, D.B. and Hubler, G.K. (Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1994).Google Scholar
3. Hubler, G.K., MRS Bulletin 17(2), 26 (1992).Google Scholar
4. Ulrich, R. and Torge, R., Appl. Opt. 12, 2901 (1973).Google Scholar
5. Yilmaz, S., Venkatesan, T., and Gerhard-Multhaupt, R., Appl. Phys. Lett. 58 (22), 2479 (1991).Google Scholar
6. Cardona, M., Phys. Rev. 140, A651 (1965).Google Scholar
7. Van Raalte, J.A., 0J.O.S.A. 57, 671 (1967).Google Scholar
8. Gunter, P., Physics Reports 93, 199 (1982).Google Scholar
9. Zhang, H.Y., He, X.E., Shih, Y.H., Harshavardhan, K.S. and Knauss, L.A., Opt. Lett, (accepted for publication in 22 (23) Dec 1997).Google Scholar