The influence of the pseudo-mixed-alkali effect on the field-assisted diffusion of silver ions into glass for optical waveguides

Results are presented from a study of the field assisted diffusion of silver ions from silver films into soda-lime glass for the fabrication of planar optical waveguides. These indicate that it is necessary to take into consideration the concentration dependence of the self-diffusion coefficient of both the silver and the sodium ions in a pseudo mixed alkali effect in order to predict the silver diffusion profiles accurately. A field assisted diffusion model that incorporates this effect is developed. (Original abstract-amended)