| Unlike the field of electronic integration, which has been successful in providing highly functional and low-cost large-scale integrated circuits, integrated optics (IO) devices are still generally limited to single functionality; they are also orders of magnitude larger in size, and, consequently, quite costly. This is primarily due to the fact that individual optical functions are typically supported by only one of the many needed enabling material technologies (semiconductors, ferroelectrics, polymers), whereas multifunctional monolithic integration is difficult, if not entirely impossible.; The intricacies associated with the monolithic integration of these important technologies can be overcome by means of hybrid integration, whereby IO circuits based on different material systems are layer-transferred onto a common optical bench (e.g. Si or polymer). Presently, several hybrid-integration-enabling technologies are under development, covering a range of important optical materials (InP, GaAs, Si, LiNbO3, magnetic garnets). This thesis is dedicated to one such enabling technology, termed Crystal Ion Slicing (CIS).; Based on high-energy light-ion implantation and a highly selective wet-etch epitaxial lift-off that is enabled by this method, the CIS process has, for the first time, allowed for fabrication of single-crystal micrometers-thick films of various metal-oxides, and their subsequent integration into hybrid photonic systems. Specifically, this work describes the fabrication and characterization of thin films of LiNbO3, a material that has, owing to its excellent electro-optical properties and environmental stability, become the workhorse of integrated optics. The CIS process is shown to be transparent with respect to the crystallographic orientation and polarization domain structure of LiNbO 3. Rapid thermal annealing, a step used in preparing the films, is found important in enabling rapid processing of large-area (∼2cm2) LiNbO3 films, with morphology suitable for IO applications. The measurements of linear and nonlinear optical properties have shown that the obtained films retain or closely approximate single-crystal characteristics of the bulk material.; Several devices based on CIS LiNbO3 are also described herein, including hybrid-integrated circuits for polarization control, and thin-film pyroelectric optical detectors, with emphasis on improvements made over conventional solutions. Finally, it is shown that standard microfabrication techniques, used for fabrication of monolithically integrated LiNbO3 devices, can be combined with crystal-ion-slicing to produce low loss thin-film IO circuits. |
