Preparation Of PLZT Optical Waveguide Films Based On The Sol-Gel Methods

The waveguide electro-optic devices based on the PLZT (Lanthanum-doped lead zirconate titanate) material has been extensively studied in the field of integrated optics, due to the advantages such as low driving voltage, low power consumption and polarization insensitivity, etc. The performance of the PLZT waveguide electro-optic devices is directly affected by the quality of the PLZT thin film. The preparation of the PLZT thin film with tow transmission loss will be of great importance. In this thesis, the preparation of the PLZT thin film is studied in detail based on the sol-gel method.First, using the metal alkoxide method which has been widely adopted, the preparation of the PLZT thin film was studied. The choices of the precursors, humidity and heat treatment, etc were discussed in detail. By using the optimized preparation process, a two-component PLZT thin film was prepared, which has a relatively flat surface and a dense structure. The PLZT ridge-type optical waveguides were fabricated and the waveguide transmission was experimentally validated.Second, in order to further reduce the cost, the inorganic salts were employed instead of the metal alkoxides as the major materials in the sol-gel process. The preparation was investigated in the modified sol-gel process. The choices of the precursors, humidity and heat treatment, etc were discussed. A two-component PLZT thin film with a thickness of around 4.6?m was obtained employing the optimized process. The relatively flat surface and the dense structure suggested the chance of preparing the PLZT optical waveguide with low cost.