Measurement of the birefringence of UV-written channel silica waveguides by magnetooptic polarization-mode coupling

We report the measurement of the birefringence in integrated-optical wavegu ides using magnetooptical coupling between the two principal polarizations of the fundamental mode. We demonstrate this measurement technique for dire ctly ultrviolet (UV)-written channel waveguides in silica-on-silicon and si lica-on-silica, The dependence of the waveguide birefringence on the UV-wri ting power and UV polarization is investigated. The results are compared wi th the birefringence of etched waveguides in comparable material systems, A n analytical formula for the form birefringence in buried channel waveguide s is developed, and measured data are compared with theoretical results.