•Hydrogen and helium ions coimplantation on blistering of the Z-cut LiTaO3 surface is experimentally analyzed.•The accumulated lattice damage in He-first sample is significantly larger than that of H-first sample.•Blistering or splitting of LiTaO3 surface is more easily achieved by He− first in coimplantation.•Chemical bonding between H ions and O atoms forming of O-H structure is analyzed by infrared spectroscopy.Defects production and evolution in H and He ions co-implanted LiTaO3 under different implantation order (H + He and He + H) are investigated. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), infrared (IR) spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are used to study the lattice damage, composition and structure change in the buried damage region. Obvious differences of ions aggregation mechanism are found in H and He implanted LiTaO3. Blistering or splitting of LiTaO3 is more easily achieved in the case where He is implanted first compared to the reverses case. Significant damage enhancement and micro-fractures are observed in samples with He preimplant. The dispersed damage in H-first sample is due to the destruction by He post-bombardment of H-clusters. This order effect indicates the strong aggregation and trapping ability of He ions and He bubbles. The effect of coimplantation parameters on the cleaving of LiTaO3 is discussed.

Er-doped ZnO thin film is fabricated by radio frequency magnetron sputtering technology. It is found that the Er:ZnO film has good film quality with excellent single-mode characteristic. When the film is stimulated by 532 nm laser, one waveguide mode at 1540 nm can be excited. By confining the lateral width of planar waveguide, a single-mode channel waveguide at 1540 nm is fabricated by focused-ion-beam etching. This kind of waveguide meets the requirements of single-mode and low loss in optical communication, which could be a choice for future optical design.

•Layer-splitting was achieved in H+-implanted x-cut and z-cut KTP.•The influence from crystal orientation on layer splitting was discussed.•The optimum ion fluence for layer splitting was determined.•The temperature window for achieving layer exfoliation was investigated.H+ ions with various fluences are implanted into x and z-cut KTP crystals to achieve KTP film. Post-implantation annealing under different temperature is imposed on the samples to induce layer splitting and surface morphology modification. Layer exfoliation is observed in freestanding z-cut samples. Layer splitting is obtained using bonding method in x-cut sample implanted with 117 keV H+ ions at ion fluence of 6 × 1016 ions/cm2. Optical microscopy, scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscopy are used to observe splitting phenomenon. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy/channeling method is employed to measure lattice damage and to investigate the relationship between implantation-induced defects and layer splitting.

•The effect of hydrogen ion implantation fluence on modification of the Z-cut LiTaO3 surface morphology and the evolution of blistering during annealing were experimentally analyzed.•RBS/Channeling and ERD were used to examine ion-induced structural and compositional changes in the samples.•The Föoppl-von Karman theory was introduced to calculate the critical internal pressure and stress to induce surface blistering.•Gibbs free energy and critical radius are introduced to explain the blister shrink and rupture observed in the experiment.LiTaO3 samples are implanted by 120 keV hydrogen ion with different fluences at room temperature. H+ concentration and distribution is detected using Elastic recoil detection. Experimental results show that the threshold fluence for blistering in LiTaO3 surface is 6 × 1016 ion/cm2. Surface blistering phenomenon is studied by using optical microscopy, Rutherford back scattering spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Bubble growing and surface blister’s dependence on annealing process is observed and analyzed. The critical internal pressure and stress of surface blistering in H+-implanted LiTaO3 is derived based on theoretical model and experimental results. Gibbs free energy and cavity critical radius are introduced to explain the blister shrink and rupture observed in the experiment.

•Damage formation mechanism in MeV ion-implanted Nd:YVO4 is studied.•3 MeV Si+ implantation results in substantial surface damage in Nd:YVO4.•Electronic energy loss plays a key role in surface damage formation.•The contributions of nuclear and electronic energy loss to damage are analyzed.•Threshold of electronic stopping power for damage formation is about 1.7 keV/nm.Damage formation mechanism of Nd:YVO4 implanted with MeV ions is investigated. MeV Si+ ions were implanted into Nd:YVO4 crystal, and the lattice damage was measured using Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy/channeling (RBS/C) method. The damage creation kinetic indicates a significant contribution from electronic energy loss to the surface damage. A detailed analysis allows us to deduce the different contributions from electronic and nuclear stopping powers to the lattice damage production. An obvious difference in extent of damage from 1 MeV and 3 MeV Si+ implantations also implies that there exists a threshold value of the electronic energy deposition for damage formation. The exact value of threshold is obtained by comparison with the experimental data obtained from 3 MeV O+, F+ and Si+ implantation results, which turns out to be (1.7 ± 0.1) keV/nm.

Waveguide effect was observed in He+ implantation ZnO with different energies and doses. Computer code was used to simulate the process of ion implantation into ZnO crystal and the implantation-produced damage distribution is extracted according to RBS experimental result. The prism coupling and end-face coupling technique are used to investigate the waveguide properties. The reconstructed refractive index profile shows that the ordinary index decreases at the near surface region after He+ implantation under different conditions. The damage layer, which is governed by nuclear energy deposition of He+ ions, makes itself a reduced index barrier for guiding light. Ion-implantation, generally used for electrical isolation, may play a role for optical confinement in ZnO light emitting devices.