Bilevel mode converter between a silicon nanowire waveguide and a larger waveguide

A bilevel mode converter is analyzed for providing low-loss coupling between the small fundamental mode of a silicon nanowire waveguide and the larger mode of a conventional silicon-on-insulator (SOI) rib waveguide. The bilevel converter can also be used to improve the coupling efficiency between a lensed fiber and a silicon nanowire waveguide. The mode converter consists of two tapers formed at different levels. The top taper comprises a parabolic and sine taper, which is optimized to improve the mode conversion efficiency. Numerical analyses are given by using a three-dimensional semivectorial beam propagation method. The design has good tolerance against misalignment of the two masks needed for the double etch.     

Groove guide as a low-loss transmission system for short millimetric waves

Groove guide promises low-loss transmission at short millimetric wavelengths, coupled with simple construction and convenient dimensions. Even though the guide is of overmoded dimensions, the groove acts as a higher-order-mode filter. Approximate analytical solutions are shown to be adequate to give sufficiently accurate propagation characteristics. Higher-mode suppression is investigated and shown to be effective at 8 mm wavelength.     

Exploiting CMOS reverse interconnect scaling in multigigahertzamplifier and oscillator design

The increasing number of interconnect layers that are needed in a CMOS process to meet the routing and power requirements of large digital circuits also yield significant advantages for analog applications. The reverse thickness scaling of the top metal layer can be exploited in the design of low-loss transmission lines. Coplanar transmission lines in the top metal layers take advantage of a low metal resistance and a large separation from the heavily doped silicon substrate. They are therefore fully compatible with current and future CMOS process technologies. To investigate the feasibility of extending CMOS designs beyond 10 GHz, a wide range of coplanar transmission lines are characterized. The effect of the substrate resistivity on coplanar wave propagation is explained. After achieving a record loss of 0.3 dB/mm at 50 GHz, coplanar lines are used in the design of distributed amplifiers and oscillators. They are the first to achieve higher than 10 GHz operating frequencies in a conventional CMOS technology     

Coplanar transmission lines on thin substrates for high-speedlow-loss propagation

We investigate the attenuation and phase velocity characteristics of coplanar strip (CPS) transmission lines designed for high-speed, low-loss propagation at sub-THz frequencies. Photoconductor switches driven by femtosecond optical pulses were used to generate propagating picosecond electrical transients. External electrooptic sampling was used to measure the time-domain impulse-response characteristics with subpicosecond time resolution. The finite-difference transmission-line-matrix (FD-TLM) numerical method was used to model picosecond pulse propagation on identical transmission lines. The experiment and the numeric simulations have clarified nonquasistatic high-frequency effects and were shown to agree over a 500 GHz frequency range. Additionally, analytic quasi-static velocity and characteristic impedance formulas have been verified and their frequency range of validity established for the investigated CPS geometries. Radiation into the substrate is the dominant loss mechanism at frequencies above ~100 GHz for the CPS lines on thick substrates. CPS transmission line fabrication on thin substrates has been proposed as a method for reducing high-frequency loss and increasing the microwave propagation velocity. CPS transmission lines fabricated on 8-μm-thick Si membranes have been studied and demonstrated to possess the desired high-speed, low-loss properties     

Quasi-TEM Analysis of "Slow-Wave" Mode Propagation on Coplanar Microstructure MIS Transmission Lines

We present a simple quasi-TEM analysis of "slow-wave" mode propagation on micron-size coplanar MIS transmission lines on heavily doped semiconductors and compare theoretical results with measurements on four such structures at frequencies from 1.0 to 12.4 GHz. Excellent agreement is found, which shows that the "slow-wave" mode propagating on these transmission lines is, in fact, a quasi-TEM mode. Relatively low-loss propagation along with significant wavelength reduction is observed. Conduction losses of the metal, which have been tacitly ignored in previously published "full-wave" treatments of "slow-wave" mode propagation, are included in the theory and are shown to dominate the attenuation at frequencies below 25 GHz and to still be significant at frequencies up to at least 100 GHz.     

Through-silicon-chip transmission lines

Through-chip transmission lines connecting the frontside and backside of high-resistivity wafers are fabricated using bulk-micromachining and backside metal patterning. Experimental results illustrate the feasibility of low-loss through-chip microstrips and coplanar waveguides for innovative integration concepts of radio-frequency and microwave systems in silicon technology     

利用介质超材料控制太赫兹波的振幅和相位

设计了基于介质高阻硅的超材料用于对太赫兹波的透射振幅和相位进行控制。这里组成超材料的基本结构单元为亚波长柱状硅,相比于基于金属的超材料,其损耗小,效率也更高。太赫兹入射到不同尺寸和旋向的柱状硅时,所透射的太赫兹波的振幅和相位也不同。通过设计不同空间位置处的柱状硅尺寸和旋向,就可以实现任意的振幅和相位分布,从而对透射波波前进行完全的控制。实验中,利用这种硅质微结构设计了三种不同的奇异光栅,其衍射级次和数目可任意控制。这种基于介质超材料的方法,设计简单,加工方便,在制作太赫兹波段低损耗的功能器件方面有着广泛的应用前景。     

Wide-angle low-loss single-mode symmetric Y-junctions

A wide-angle low-loss single-mode symmetric Y-junction with a pair of integrated microprisms is proposed. The microprisms compensate the phase mismatch caused by branching to reduce the radiation loss. Device performance is examined numerically by the beam propagation method. The results show that the transmission loss can be less than 0.81 dB even if the branching angle is as large as 20°. Moreover, a simple rule is presented for the design of the prisms     

Propagation of microwaves through InSb in a transverse dc magnetic field

Experiments on the propagation of microwave power through InSb in a transverse dc magnetic field demonstrate the feasibility of low-loss propagation. The results correlate well with theoretical predictions.     

Design of low-loss tapered waveguides using the telescope structure compensation

A low-loss tapered waveguide is achieved by telescope structure compensation. The configuration of this design is similar to the Galilean telescope based on bulk geometrical optics. We numerically calculate the transmission efficiency in the use of the beam propagation method (BPM) and the finite-difference time-domain method. The BPM simulation results reveal that the normalized transmission efficiency is more than 95%, even if the tapered angle is as large as 10/spl deg/.     

A practical aspect of over-rooftop multiple-building forwarddiffraction from a low source

A practical aspect of over-rooftop multiple-building forward diffraction from a low source is presented, including two formulations and an introduction of their application. In particular, the low-loss formulation for multiple diffraction exposes a factor that can account for strong over-rooftop radio propagation. Both low- and high-loss formulations take the advantages of the uniform geometrical theory of diffraction and physical optics (PO) and have the major advantage of significantly shortening the computing time over existing formulations. They behave well, particularly in and near the transition zone, and are written in explicit forms additionally for soft boundary that corresponds to vertical polarization transmission and reception in the horizontal plane. The application in the vertical plane for the total received signal strength prediction is introduced using the formulations for the hard boundary corresponding to vertical polarization transmission and reception     

The Groove Guide, a Low-Loss Waveguide for Millimeter Waves

A new waveguide for the low-loss transmission of millimeter waves is presented. The guide consists of two parallel conducting walls with grooves in the central region of the guide cross section. The grooves run along the guide in the direction of the wave propagation. It is shown that the waveguide, if excited in the TE-wave mode, has properties similar to those of the H guide, which contains a dielectric slab between the conducting walls in the center. The new guide is characterized by an exponential transverse decrease of the field distributions in direction from the center and by low attenuation. Theoretical considerations dealing with the field distribution and the data of the guide are presented.     

Fabrication of polymeric large-core waveguides for opticalinterconnects using a rubber molding process

Polymeric large-core (47 μm×41 μm) optical waveguides for optical interconnects have been fabricated by using a rubber molding process. For low-cost low-loss large-core waveguides, our newly developed thick-photoresist patterning process is used for a master fabrication. Also a low-loss thermocurable polymer, perfluorocyclobutane (PFCB), is used in fabricating optical waveguides by rubber molding for the first time. The propagation loss is measured to be 0.4 dB/cm at the wavelength of 1.3 μm, and 0.7 dB/cm at the wavelength of 1.55 μm     

Mode propagation constants in hollow oversized circular waveguides with low-conductivity wall material

Using convenient parameters, the mode propagation constants in hollow circular waveguides with low-conductivity wall material are derived into practical formulas. The variations of these propagation constants versus electrical characteristics of the wall material are studied. The results allow the determination of optimal materials for low-loss mode transmission and the improvements achieved with these optimal materials compared to the usual dielectrical materials are pointed out. Application to the particular case of ordinary glass as a guide wall material is made. The condition to have the fundamental EH₁₁ mode the less attanuated is given.     

Low-loss polyimide-Ta2O5-SiO2hybrid ARROW waveguides

A low-loss polyimide-Ta₂O₅-SiO₂ hybrid antiresonant reflecting optical waveguide (ARROW) is presented. The ARROW device was fabricated using both the organic and dielectric thin-film technologies. It consists of the fluorinated polyimide, tantalum pentoxide (Ta₂O₅), and silicon dioxide (SiO₂) hybrid layers deposited on a Si substrate. For transverse electric polarized light, the propagation loss of the waveguide as low as 0.4 dB/cm was obtained at 1.31 μm. The propagation loss for transverse magnetic polarized light is 1.5 dB/cm. An ARROW waveguide fabricated using the polyimide-Ta₂O₅ -polyimide material system is also presented for comparison     

Analyzing the polarization dependence in optical spot-sizeconverter by using a semivectorial finite-element beam propagationmethod

This paper describes a semivectorial wide-angle finite-element beam propagation method (FE-BPM) that uses the Pade approximation and that can allow efficient and accurate analyzes of the polarization dependence in arbitrary step-index optical waveguide devices. It also reports the use of this method to analyze the polarization dependence of coupling loss between a semiconductor tapered-waveguide spot-size converter and a single-mode optical fiber. It is shown that semiconductor spot-size converters having cores with a small cross-section provide low-loss and polarization-insensitive coupling to flat-end fibers. A low-loss (far less than 1 dB) and completely polarization-insensitive spot-size converter can be made using a lightly n-doped InP substrate for the tapered waveguide. These spot-size converters are consequently potentially useful for making polarization-insensitive semiconductor optical devices such as optical amplifier gate switches     

Coupled loops at 20 GHz for stacked planar circuits

Differential planar coupled loops are examined as a method of integrating silicon electronics with passive elements on low-loss microwave laminates. Two test structures are examined which abut planar loops on a CMOS chip to similarly sized loops on a low-loss microwave laminate. The insertion loss of a pair of the 1000times1000 mum loops was measured to be approximately 3 dB at 20 GHz, and the loss between the 700times300 mum loops was measured to be approximately 6 dB at 20 GHz     

Magnetostatic Wave Propagation in a Finite YIG-Loaded Rectangular Waveguide

The propagation of magnetostatic waves (MSW) in a waveguide partially loaded with a low-loss ferrite slab is investigated theoretically. The most common low-loss ferrite material used for MSW propagation is epitaxial yttrium iron garnet (YIG). A YIG slab is placed inside and along the guide and not in contact with the sidewalls of the wavegnide. The dc magnetic field is assumed to be parallel to the YIG slab and perpendicular to the direction of propagation. Using the integral equation method, the dispersion relation is found to be an infinitely large determinant equal to zero. Proper truncation of this determinant and numerical analysis to find its roots are carried out in this work. It is seen that in order to obtain high values of group time delay, the YIG slab must be narrow and placed at the bottom of the guide. On the other hand, to maximize the device bandwidth, a narrow YIG slab positioned at the top inside surface of the waveguide is preferred. It is also noticed that there exists a tradeoff between the time delay and the device bandwidth and that maximization of one property leads to a poor value in the other. Thus, some design compromises should be made. It is also observed that the frequency range of operation of the device can be adjusted by an external magnetic bias field. This property of tuning the device to operate in any frequency range adds an extra dimension of flexibility to the operation and also to the design of these devices.     

Low-loss coupling of multiple fiber arrays to single-mode waveguides

A method for obtaining permanent low-loss couping between arrys of single-mode fiber and Ti:LiNbO3waveguides is described. The technique, based on the use of silicon chip V-grooves, simplifies the coupling problem by simultaneously aligning the entire array and by providing a large surface area for a higher integrity adhesive bond. Atlambda = 1.3 mum, we measure an average 1.9-dB coupling loss (exclusive of propagation loss) for the assembled array. The average excess loss due to the fiber array is 0.8 dB. We present an analysis of the effect of various types of array misalignment on coupling efficiency. Angular alignment and array periodicity are found to be critical. If the fiber and waveguide periodicities are matched exactly, the fibers need only be placed withinpm 1.3mum of their optimum position to maintain coupling efficiencies greater than 90 percent.     

Experimental testing of a random medium optical model of porous silicon for photovoltaic applications

We have developed a model for light propagation in porous silicon (PS) based on the theory of wave propagation in random media. The low porosity case is considered, with silicon being the host material assuming randomly distributed spherical voids as scattering particles. The specular and the diffuse part of the light could be determined and treated separately. The model is applied to the case in which porous silicon would be used as a diffuse back reflector in a thin‐film crystalline silicon solar cell realized in an ultrathin (1–3 μm) epitaxially grown Si layer on PS. Three layer structures (epi/PS/Si) have been fabricated by atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) of 150–1000 nm epitaxial silicon layers on silicon wafers of which 150–450 nm of the surface has been electrochemically etched. An excellent agreement is found between the experimentally measured reflection data in the 400–1000 nm wavelength range and those calculated using the proposed model. The values of the layer thickness agree, within a reasonable experimental error, with those obtained independently by cross sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) analysis. This provides an experimental verification of the random medium approach to porous silicon in the low porosity case. The analysis shows that the epitaxial growth process has led to appreciable porosity decrease of an initially high porosity layer from about 60% to 20–30%. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.