Waveguide lasers based on dielectric materials

Fifty years since the invention of the laser have been witness of the development of many different laser systems and designs. Among them, miniaturized versions of solid sate lasers based on rare-earth-doped dielectric materials have been proposed and demonstrated during the last 20 years. They are based on confined radiation provided by optical waveguide structures. Although many materials and techniques have been studied for producing planar and channel waveguides, only a few of them have shown to be adequate routes for fabricating waveguide lasers. Here we summarize the theory and specific technologies developed for characterizing waveguide structures, and we present some common fabrication techniques already successfully applied to fabricate dielectric waveguide lasers, where relevant examples of demonstrated working devices are outlined.