| he sol-gel process is a low temperature solution route to amorphous and crystalline materials. Organic modification of the precursors allows the formation of organic-inorganic composite materials. We use the sol-gel process to produce an organically-modified ceramic for integrated optical applications. Photosensitive organic components allow the fabrication of passive integrated optical devices by photolithography. We demonstrate the fabrication and characterization of channel waveguides, waveguide devices and gratings in this material. Active devices based on the emission of erbium at 1.55... |
