Laser-Assisted Etching of Lithium Niobate

ABSTRACTLaser-assisted dry etching of lithium niobate, LiNbO3, as well as other electro-optic materials could be an industrially important process in the fabrication of optical waveguides. In this investigation, an excimer laser (ArF; 193nm) was used to conduct etching reactions using nitrogen trifluoride, NF3. Enhancement of etching was observed by comparing the etch rate for a gas assisted process with that of a purely photoablative process. Chemical analysis of the etched features via Auger electron spectroscopy and correlation of a simple rate equation with the experimental data revealed that lasersurface interactions are responsible for the laser-assisted etching process.