Fabrication of ridge waveguides in LiNbO 3 thin film crystal by proton-exchange accelerated etching

A simple fabrication method of adhered LiNbO 3 ridge waveguides by accelerated etching of the proton-exchanged region is proposed and demonstrated. The waveguides were fabricated and tested at 1.55 mum wavelength. Strongly confined guided modes were obtained. The waveguides are suitable for efficient nonlinear-optic wavelength conversion devices.