Numerical simulation of ion-exchange in glass for integrated optical components

A numerical model based on the finite-element method for solving the nonlinear diffusion equation of ion-exchange in glasses is presented. The model is applied to the calculation of the concentration profile for a Ag/sup +/-Na/sup +/ ion-exchanged channel waveguide. The calculated concentration profile is in good agreement with a measured refractive-index profile of a waveguide fabricated with the same parameters as used in the calculations.<
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