Reduction of AlGaAs Heterostructure High-Index-Contrast Ridge Waveguide Scattering Loss by Sidewall Smoothing Through Oxygen-Enhanced Wet Thermal Oxidation |
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Authors: | Seibert C.S. Hall D.C. Di Liang Shellenbarger Z.A. |
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Affiliation: | Electr. Eng. Dept., Univ. of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA; |
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Abstract: | We demonstrate the efficacy of oxidation smoothing of sidewall roughness in high-index-contrast AlGaAs heterostructure ridge waveguides via oxygen-enhanced nonselective wet thermal oxidation for reducing scattering loss. Single-mode waveguides of core widths between 1.5 and 2.2 ?m are fabricated using both the inward growth of a ~ 600-nm sidewall-smoothing native oxide outer cladding and, for comparison, encapsulation of an unoxidized etched ridge with a ~ 600-nm deposited silicon oxide cladding layer. On average, measured loss coefficients are reduced by a factor of 2 with the oxidation smoothing process. |
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