Efficient coupling between annealed K+-Na+ ion-exchanged channel waveguides and 10/125 single-mode fibers at λ=1.321 μm

The process of thermal annealing of K⁺-Na⁺ ion-exchanged channel waveguides has been studied with the aim of optimizing their coupling efficiency with commercial single-mode fibers at λ=1.321 μm. Waveguides obtained in soda-lime glass slides, with mask apertures ranging between 13.4 and 2.6 μm, were characterized before the annealing by combining nearfield measurements and an etching procedure. The experimental results were successfully compared with a theoretical model based on the variational principle. The refractive index distribution of K⁺-Na⁺ ion-exchanged channel waveguides supporting one or a low number of modes was given: compared to the corresponding slab case, the refractive index step Δn_o remained constant, while the waveguide depth was lower. The thermal annealing process of the channels was then performed and modeled by means of the standard diffusion theory. As a result, the channel fabrication parameters for optimum guide-fiber coupling could be predicted: 0.23-dB mode mismatch losses were measured between the optimized channel and a commercial 10/125 single-mode fiber, at λ=1.321 μm