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     

Fabrication of buried channel waveguides in fused silica usingfocused MeV proton beam irradiation

Low-loss channel waveguides have been fabricated in fused silica using a beam of MeV protons focused down to a spot size of several microns. By using a combination of beam and sample scanning, single- and multimode graded index waveguides with lateral dimensions down to approximately 5 μm×5 μm have been fabricated using ion doses in the range (3×10¹⁴)-(6×10¹⁶) ions/cm ². Typical beam currents in the range 100 pA-10 nA were used. Optical mode profiles have been measured at 670 nm and propagation losses of the order of 3 dB/cm measured in unannealed samples. Annealing the substrate for 1 h at 500°C reduced these losses to below 0.5 dB/cm     

Fluorinated polyimide waveguides with low polarization-dependentloss and their applications to thermooptic switches

Fluorinated polyimide waveguides with low polarization dependent loss (PDL) and thermooptic (TO) switches made from them were demonstrated. The waveguides showed loss of less than 0.3 dB/cm at the wavelength of 1.3 μm and 0.6 dB/cm at 1.55 μm for both TE and TM polarizations. The PDL's were less than 0.1 dB/cm. Extinction ratios of Y-branching-type TO switches fabricated from these waveguides were larger than 20 dB when over 160 mW of electric power was applied at 1.3 μm, and over 150 mW at 1.55 μm. The switching speed was faster than 8 ms     

Low-loss single-mode GaAs/AlGaAs miniature optical waveguides withstraight and bending structures

Low-loss single-mode GaAs/AlGaAs miniature optical waveguides fabricated for use in monolithically integrated optical circuits are discussed. The propagation characteristics of these waveguides with straight and S-bending structures have been investigated at wavelengths of 1.30 and 1.55 μm. The lowest propagation losses are estimated to be 0.58 dB/cm and 0.69 dB/cm at wavelengths of 1.30 and 1.55 μm, respectively. The total loss of an S-bending waveguide with a curvature radius of 2 mm and with a lateral displacement of 200 μm was 0.61 dB and 0.46 dB at wavelengths of 1.30 and 1.55 μm. The fabricated single-mode strip-loaded waveguides proved to be suitable for application of the semiconductor waveguide into monolithically integrated optical circuits     

Low-loss bent connections for optical switches

We present S-bent InP/InGaAsP rib waveguides used as connections for optical switches at λ=1.5 μm. Transitions between waveguides of different curvature and different lateral confinement are realized with adiabatic tapers. We investigated bends with radii from 200-1700 μm and rib widths 2.2, 3.2, and 4.2 μm. For rib width 3.2 μm we obtain almost for all radii extremely small quasi-polarization independent excess-losses below 0.3 dB. The waveguides are easy to fabricate and the tapered transitions are tolerant to technological variations. The performance offers the chance of low cost and simple monolithic integration of large optical switch matrices in InP/InGaAsP     

Low-loss polymeric optical waveguides fabricated with deuteratedpolyfluoromethacrylate

Deuterated polyfluoromethacrylate which has high transparency, low birefringence and good processability was newly synthesized for use as optical waveguide materials, and both single-mode and multimode optical waveguides were fabricated using the polymer. The propagation loss and waveguide birefringence of the single-mode waveguides were as low as 0.10 dB/cm and -5.5×10^-6 at 1.31 μm, respectively. The propagation losses of the multimode waveguides were less than 0.02 dB/cm at both 0.68 and 0.83 μm, and 0.07 dB/cm at 1.31 μm     

7.1 GHz bandwidth monolithically integratedIn0.53Ga0.47As/In0.52Al0.48As PIN-HBT transimpedance photoreceiver

A monolithically integrated photoreceiver using an InAlAs/InGaAs HBT-based transimpedance amplifier has been fabricated and characterized. The p-i-n photodiode is implemented using the base-collector junction of the HBT. The 5 μm×5 μm emitter area transistors have self-aligned base metal and non-alloyed Ti/Pt/Au contacts. Discrete transistors demonstrated f_T and f_max of 54 GHz and 51 GHz, respectively. The amplifier demonstrated a -3 dB transimpedance bandwidth of 10 GHz and a gain of 40 dBΩ. The integrated photoreceiver with a 10 μm×10 μm p-i-n photodiode showed a -3 dB bandwidth of 7.1 GHz     

A new self-alignment technology using bridged base electrode forsmall-scaled AlGaAs/GaAs HBT's

The fabrication and characterization of a new self-aligned HBT utilizing bridged base-electrode technology (BBT) are presented. This new technology simplifies the fabrication process and relaxes the limitations in device size scaling, thus decreasing the emitter size to 1 μm×1 μm. In spite of a large junction periphery area ratio, a good current gain of more than 10 is obtained in an HBT with an emitter size of 1 μm×1 μm. A series of fabricated HBTs shows excellent high-speed performance. The highest values of f_T =90 GHz and f_max=63 GHz are obtained in an HBT with an emitter size of 1 μm×5 μm. The realization of HBTs with small emitters and excellent high-frequency characteristics demonstrates the effectiveness of this new technology     

Proton-exchanged periodically segmented channel waveguides inlithium niobate

Annealed proton-exchanged periodically segmented channel waveguides were fabricated in Z-cut lithium niobate. The propagation losses as a function of the duty cycle and the segmentation period are reported. Waveguiding was observed at large segmentation periods, up to 100 μm. For duty cycles >0.5, the propagation losses are nearly the same as measured for a continuous waveguide with the same width, namely ~1.45 dB/cm. With decreasing duty cycle, the mode expands in the transverse directions     

Influence of water sorption on acrylic polymer waveguide loss

The influence of water sorption on acrylic polymer waveguides was studied by measuring the loss changes in the atmosphere at 13 to 98% RH. The absorption peak at 1.41 μm increased from 0.5 to 2 dB/cm due to water sorption. This peak resulted in a small loss change of 0.03 dB/cm at 1.3 μm, which was successfully measured using a 57 cm waveguide with a loss of around 0.1 dB/cm. Relationships between loss change and water sorption were also revealed by measuring the water content of the polymers     

Passive integrated-optical waveguide structures by Ge-diffusion insilicon

The realization of low loss optical channel waveguides and passive waveguide structures by a germanium indiffusion process into silicon will be discussed. Employing relatively simple technological processing like standard lithography, e-beam evaporation and diffusion, single-mode waveguides could be produced exhibiting polarization independent losses of as low as 0.3 dB/cm at wavelengths of λ=1.3 μm and λ=1.55 μm. S-bends fabricated with the same technology offered an excess loss of 1 dB at a radius of around 5 mm without any optimization. For a Y-junction designed with S-bends the maximum opening angle was determined to be 1.8° if an excess loss of 1 dB is allowed. The examination of directional couplers with various coupling lengths and distances revealed an excellent agreement between measurement and theory     

Single-mode, phosphorus-doped silica waveguides in siliconV-grooves

Single-mode, phosphorus-doped glass waveguides have been formed in silicon V-grooves by chemical vapor deposition. The fabrication process is reproducible, involves few steps, and produces waveguides with a loss on the order of 0.1 dB/cm at a wavelength of 0.633 μm. These waveguides are compatible with passive V-groove fiber alignment and out-of-plane coupling from integrated taps and end facets to surface-mounted optoelectronic devices     

Fabrication of single-mode polymeric optical waveguides bylaser-beam writing

A laser-beam writing system is developed for large-area optical waveguide fabrication. Single-mode embedded channel optical waveguides are successfully fabricated on both 4- and 8-in silicon substrates using deuterated fluoromethacrylate polymers by laser-beam writing in photoresist and dry etching. The propagation loss of the waveguides is as low as 0.1 dB/cm at 1.3 μm     

Fabrication of LiTaO3 optical waveguides by Ni diffusionbelow the Curie temperature

Using Ni diffusion into LiTaO₃ below the Curie temperature for the fabrication of optical waveguides was presented for the first lime. Ordinary and extraordinary polarization waveguide modes were obtained. The index distribution profiles of both modes were measured by a prism coupler. Loss in planar waveguides at 0.6328 μm is 0.7±0.1 dB/cm for the ordinary mode and 1.3±0.2 dB/cm for the extraordinary mode. Moreover, a Mach-Zehnder interferometer was fabricated by this method for electrooptic characterization. The measured half-wave voltage is 5.5 V and the extinction ratio is greater than 29 dB     

Waveguides in BK7 optical glass fabricated by transverseelectromigration of silver ions

Low-loss (0.1 dB/cm at 632.8 nm) waveguides fabricated in BK7 optical glass using the transverse electromigration of Ag⁺ ions are discussed. With a migration time of 1.5 h at 320°C, waveguides of depths from 3.0 to 5.0 μm were obtained with various index changes. The inverse WKB method was used to deduce the index profile. The profile was further confirmed by a comparison of experimental and theoretical mode indices and intensity distributions     

PLZT film waveguide Mach-Zehnder electrooptic modulator

We report the numerical analysis and the fabrication of a reversed-ridge PLZT film waveguide. It is single-mode, has low transmission loss, and has large transverse cross-section suitable for efficient coupling to single-mode optical fibers. We used this structure to fabricate Mach-Zehnder (MZ) waveguide modulators. The field distribution in the channel and Y branch waveguides was calculated using a beam propagation method to analyze the modal profiles and the propagation loss. The reversed-ridge waveguides and the MZ structures were fabricated on r-sapphire substrates with a patterned ITO spacer film by sol-gel deposition. At 1.55 μm the propagation loss was 2.7 dB/cm. In the MZ, the half-wave modulation voltage was 8.5 V using 1.55 μm light and electrode length of 3.5 mm     

0.15 dB/cm loss in Unibond SOI waveguides

The optical loss of Unibond waveguides is measured and reported for the first time, using grating couplers. At a wavelength of 1.3 μm, a loss of 0.15±0.05 dB/cm is obtained for TE polarisation. This allows good quality low loss integrated optical circuits to be fabricated at low cost     

A pixellated grating array using photoelectrochemical etching on aGaAs waveguide

We have demonstrated and evaluated a grating array outcoupler fabricated by photoelectrochemical (PEC) etching, a manufacturable and practical approach for fabrication of grating-based III-V semiconductor waveguide devices. An array of submicron period gratings was etched into photolithographically delineated areas in a single PEC step. The fabricated devices are: 10-μm wide rib waveguides with 0.35-μm first-order outcoupling gratings; and 10-μm wide rib waveguides with 10 μm×10 μm pixellated areas of gratings. Device characterization demonstrates the effectiveness of outcoupling grating fabrication using PEC and that the pixellated grating outcoupler is an effective and simple means of generating an optical beam array     

Integrated directional couplers with photodetectors by hydridevapour phase epitaxy

The hydride vapour-phase-epitaxial crystal growth technique has been used to realise integrated waveguide-photodetectors and, for the first time, integrated directional coupler-photodetectors for detection in the 1.3 μm to 1.55 μm wavelength range. The GaInAsP waveguides which formed the directional couplers had propagation losses of 2±0.5 dB/cm and more than 90% of the guided light was coupled into the photodetectors. The directional couplers were symmetric with respect to the launch port and had 3 dB coupling lengths of about 1.45 mm     

Optical signal distribution to MSM photodetector arrays viaintegrated polyimide waveguides

The integration of metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) photodetector arrays with polyimide ridge waveguides is demonstrated. MSM detectors were fabricated using transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) interdigitated electrodes on semi-insulating GaAs substrates. An optical buffer layer of SiO₂ was deposited and patterned, and then polyimide ridge waveguides were fabricated on top by spin coating and photolithography. The guides were multimode with widths from 10 to 50 μm. Light at 830 nm was coupled efficiently from the waveguides through gaps in the SiO ₂ buffer layer into the underlying detector structures. Absolute responsivities of the integrated MSM devices were around 0.5 A/W and the 3 dB bandwidths of 5-6 GHz were measured. Division of the input signal between sets of two and four detectors under a single waveguide has been achieved, highlighting the potential for the fabrication of integrated optoelectronic switches