Corning Incorporated
LOW-LOSS WAVEGUIDES FORMED IN HIGH-TRANSMISSION GLASS USING Ag-Na ION EXCHANGE

Abstract:

The low-loss ion exchanged (IOX) waveguide disclosed herein includes a glass substrate having a top surface and comprising an alkali-aluminosilicate glass with between 3 and 15 mol % of Na.sub.2O and a concentration of Fe of 20 parts per million (ppm) or less. The glass substrate includes a buried Ag--Na IOX region, wherein this region and a surrounding portion of glass substrate define the IOX waveguide. The IOX waveguide has an optical loss OL.ltoreq.0.05 dB/cm and a birefringence magnitude |B|.ltoreq.0.001. The glass substrate with multiple IOX waveguides can be used as an optical backplane for systems having optical functionality and can find use in data center and high-performance data transmission applications.