Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2011
Crack free transparent ferroelectric PLZT (9/65/35) thin films were deposited on silicon substrates using the sol-gel deposition technique. An intermediate layer of PLT was used to improve the PLZT's optical quality and to reduce the amount of film cracking. Wet chemical, plasma and reactive ion etching are investigated as means of realizing the necessary waveguide structures. Waveguiding is observed in 2-4mm long PLZT (9/65/35) fabricated by reactive ion beam etching.