The process for fabricating a ridge waveguide on a substrate uses a photosensitive sol-gel glass material prepared, according to a first embodiment, by mixing methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (H2C=C(CH3)CO2(CH2)3Si(OCH3)3) and methacrylic acid (H2C=C(CH3)COOH) or, according to a second embodiment, by mixing methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (H2C=C(CH3)CO2(CH2)3Si(OCH3)3) with bis(s-butoxy)aluminoxytriethoxysilane. A thick film of photosensitive sol-gel glass material is first dip coated on at least a portion of the substrate. A photomask is applied to the film of photosensitive sol-gel glass material, and this sol-gel material is exposed to ultraviolet radiation through the opening(s) of the photomask to render a portion of the film insoluble to a given solvent and thereby imprint the ridge waveguide in that film. The thick film is then soaked in this solvent, for example n-propanol to dissolve the unexposed portion of the sol-gel film and leave on the substrate the exposed film portion and therefore the ridge waveguide. The ridge waveguide is heat cured and the heat cured ridge waveguide is covered with a cladding layer.