Abstract

The development of a broadly tunable waveguide laser offers important advantages in the application of integrated optics to fields such as sensing and spectroscopy. A waveguide laser based on the well known Ti:sapphire laser system, where the gain bandwidth extends over 400nm in the near infra-red, presents an attractive candidate. The realisation of such a device in low cost, high quality sapphire substrates, requires the development of both optical waveguides and the introduction of the active ion. In this paper we report the demonstration of optical waveguides in sapphire, fabricated by the thermal diffusion of titanium, and identify conditions appropriate for the development of a Ti:sapphire waveguide laser.

© 1996 IEEE