Nanomembrane transfer process for intricate photonic device applications

We demonstrate a process for the fabrication and transfer of silicon nanomembranes (Si-NMs) that have been released from their host substrates and redeposited on foreign flexible or flat substrates. The transfer process developed allows intricate photonic devices to be transferred via NMs to a variety of new substrate materials. This allows the transferred devices to benefit from the material properties of both substrate and NM. Our process is designed to transfer and stack large-area photonic devices without compromising their optical performance. The process has been used to transfer large-area unpatterned silicon NMs, in excess of 2.5 cm(2), and photonic devices with intricate device designs containing various fill factors. We have also demonstrated transferred photonic crystal devices that have maintained structural integrity and functionality.     

硅基混合表面等离子体纳米光波导及集成器件

总结并展望了硅基混合表面等离子体纳米光波导及集成器件方面的理论和实验研究工作。首先介绍了几种硅基混合表面等离子体纳米光波导结构,其尺寸可小至100 nm以下,而传播长度达100μm量级;其次介绍了基于硅基混合表面等离子体纳米光波导的功分器、偏振分束器和谐振器等集成器件,其尺寸为亚微米量级;最后探讨了硅基混合表面等离子体纳米光波导与硅纳米线光波导的耦合及对其进行增益补偿。     

Novel Light Source Integration Approaches for Silicon Photonics

Silicon does not emit light efficiently, therefore the integration of other light‐emitting materials is highly demanded for silicon photonic integrated circuits. A number of integration approaches have been extensively explored in the past decade. Here, the most recent progress in this field is reviewed, covering the integration approaches of III‐V‐to‐silicon bonding, transfer printing, epitaxial growth and the use of colloidal quantum dots. The basic approaches to create waveguide‐coupled on‐chip light sources for different application scenarios are discussed, both for silicon and silicon nitride based waveguides. A selection of recent representative device demonstrations is presented, including high speed DFB lasers, ultra‐dense comb lasers, short (850nm) and long (2.3μm) wavelength lasers, wide‐band LEDs, monolithic O‐band lasers and micro‐disk lasers operating in the visible. The challenges and opportunities of these approaches are discussed.     

溶胶-凝胶法制备SiO2-TiO2平板光波导工艺研究

采用溶胶-凝胶法制备了SiO₂-TiO₂平板光波导,计算了平板光波导通光条件,分析了硅/钛溶胶-凝胶材料的热性能,观测了平板光波导的结构形貌,并测试了其通光损耗。结果表明：经过200℃,30 min干燥处理的凝胶薄膜呈疏松多孔状态,对于非对称平板波导,存在芯层通光截止厚度,而且当SiO₂-TiO₂芯层厚度为0.5 μm时,SiO₂下包层厚度至少有6 μm才能防止1550 nm波长光泄露入单晶硅衬底中。制备的光波导对于1550 nm波长光传输损耗最小值为0.34 dB/cm。     

Low-loss germanium strip waveguides on silicon for the mid-infrared

Mid-infrared photonics in silicon needs low-loss integrated waveguides. While monocrystalline germanium waveguides on silicon have been proposed, experimental realization has not been reported. Here we demonstrate a germanium strip waveguide on a silicon substrate. It is designed for single mode transmission of light in transverse magnetic (TM) polarization generated from quantum cascade lasers at a wavelength of 5.8 μm. The propagation losses were measured with the Fabry-Perot resonance method. The lowest achieved propagation loss is 2.5 dB/cm, while the bending loss is measured to be 0.12 dB for a 90° bend with a radius of 115 μm.     

Low-loss amorphous silicon-on-insulator technology for photonic integrated circuitry

We report the fabrication of low-loss amorphous silicon photonic wires deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Single mode photonic wires were fabricated by 193 nm optical lithography and dry etching. Propagation loss measurements show a loss of 3.46 dB/cm for photonic wires and 1.34 dB/cm for ridge waveguides.     

Laser-written nanoporous silicon ridge waveguide for highly sensitive optical sensors

We report that low-loss ridge waveguides are directly written on nanoporous silicon layers by using an argon-ion laser at 514 nm up to 100 mW. Optical characterization of the waveguides indicates light propagation loss lower than 0.5 dB/cm at 1550 nm after oxidation. A Mach-Zehnder interferometer sensor is experimentally demonstrated using the waveguide in its sensing branch, and analytical results indicate that very high sensitivity can be achieved. With large internal surface area, versatile surface chemistry, and adjustable index of refraction of porous silicon, the ridge waveguides can be used to configure Mach-Zehnder interferometers, Young's interferometers, and other photonic devices for highly sensitive optical biosensors and chemical sensors as well as other applications.     

聚硅氧烷改性及多模光波导制备

采用含氢聚硅氧烷(HPSO)和二乙烯基苯(DVB)的交联体掺入聚二甲基硅氧烷(PDMS)中,使改性的聚二甲基硅氧烷(M-PDMS)折射率发生1%～1.8%的改变。M-PDMS及PDMS薄膜具有良好的光透射率和低的传输损耗,是低成本制备用于高速芯片间光互连聚合物光波导的理想材料。采用软成型和图案转移法,用M-PDMS及PDMS分别作波导的芯层和包层制备了截面为50μm×50μm,长度大于20cm的聚硅氧烷多模光波导。用数字化散射法测量了所制备波导的传输损耗,测得输入光波长为633nm时平均传输损耗为0.137dB/cm。     

Quantum dot lasers and integrated optoelectronics on silicon platform Invited Paper

Chip-scale integration of optoelectronic devices such as lasers, waveguides, and modulators on silicon is prevailing as a promising approach to realize future ultrahigh speed optical interconnects. We review recent progress of the direct epitaxy and fabrication of quantum dot (QD) lasers and integrated guided-wave devices on silicon. This approach involves the development of molecular beam epitaxial growth of selforganized QD lasers directly on silicon substrates and their monolithic integration with amorphous silicon waveguides and quantum well electroabsorption modulators. Additionally, we report a preliminary study of long-wavelength (> 1.3 μm) QD lasers grown on silicon and integrated crystalline silicon waveguides using membrane transfer technology.     

基于硅纳米线波导的两级光子晶体缩束器

鉴于在微观领域光波的缩束对实现光电集成的重要意义,提出了基于硅纳米线波导的两级光子晶体缩束器。其中一级压缩基于W5型和W1型光子晶体波导间的高效耦合。二级压缩则由宽为0.1μm,长为3.06μm的纳米线波导和W1型光子晶体波导构成,通过二者的高效耦合实现光束压缩。当W1型光子晶体波导和纳米线波导间介质柱的半径为0.04μm时,对于1550nm波长的电磁波,缩束器的通光效率可达93.4%,压缩比为16.08,出射光束半峰全宽仅为0.148μm。     

Young's Modulus Characterization of Nano-Level Silicon Nanomembrane

Silicon nanomembrane (SiNM) has drawn great attention for the application in nanoelectrical devices as it shows excellent flexibility and is compatible with the integrated circuit process. The mechanical property measurement of the SiNM with nanoscale thickness is critical. A suspended SiNM (40 nm thick) for mechanical measurements is fabricated by transferring a chemically etched ultrathin monocrystalline silicon film from silicon on insulator wafer to a substrate with a multi-hole array. And then, the atomic force probe is utilized to load force on the free-standing SiNM to obtain a force deflection curve, and then the Young's modulus of such floating SiNM can be directly calculated based on the large deflection plane model. It shows that the Young's modulus of such SiNM is basically consistent with that of the bulk silicon. However, the SiNMs’ floating area significantly affects the results, i.e., the Young's modulus varies with the ratio of the suspended area diameter (i.e., hole diameter) to the film thickness. The Young's modulus is independent of hole diameter when the ratio is greater than 425. According to this relationship, the variation of Young's modulus can be predicted for arbitrary thick SiNMs and any transferable nanofilms.     

Laser scribing on HOPG for graphene stamp printing on silicon wafer

Highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) was scribed by pulsed laser beam to produce square patterns. Patterning of HOPG surface facilitates the detachment of graphene layers during contact printing. Direct HOPG-to-substrate and glue-assisted stamp printing of a few-layers graphene was compared. Printed graphene sheets were visualized by optical and scanning electron microscopy. The number of graphene layers was measured by atomic force microscopy. Glue-assisted stamp printing allows printing relatively large graphene sheets (40×40 μm) onto a silicon wafer. The presented method is easier to implement and is more flexible than the majority of existing ways of placing graphene sheets onto a substrate.     

Screen-printed polymer waveguides for integrated optics

We demonstrate screen printing of polymer waveguides on rigid and flexible substrates. The waveguides are characterized by optical microscopy and propagation losses are determined by cut-back measurements. Furthermore, the efficiency of light coupling using fluorescent molecules within the waveguides is measured with regard to the application feasibility in sensor systems. It is shown that minimum propagation losses of 0.74 dB/cm can be reached with this low-cost printing technique.     

Ion implantation into fused quartz for integrated optical circuits

Results obtained in the fabrication of slab and strip waveguides by ion implantation into fused quartz are discussed. Using a step-index waveguide model the increase in refractive index is calculated. The optical loss is smaller than 1 dB/cm at λ = 568 nm without annealing. The properties of strip waveguides fabricated by ion implantation through photoresist masks of thicknesses from 0.4 μm to 0.8 μm are described. A bright fluorescence is observed with emission at 530 nm and 640 nm and its dependence on ion fluence and ion energy is measured.     

Low bending loss and effectively single-mode all-solid photonic bandgap fiber with an effective area of 650 μm2

A large-mode-area all-solid photonic bandgap fiber with a seven-cell core and five high-index rod rings is investigated. Numerical simulations show that an effective area of more than 500 μm(2), a bending loss of less than 0.1 dB/m at a bending radius of 10 cm and effectively single-mode operation can be achieved simultaneously. A core diameter of 44.8 μm and an effective area of 650 μm(2) at 1064 nm are achieved in a fabricated fiber. Bending loss at 1064 nm is 0.09 dB/m at a bending radius of 7 cm. Effectively single-mode operation is also realized at a bending radius of 10 cm.     

Optical amplification in Er/Yb silicate slot waveguide

Active slot waveguides were fabricated by embedding low-index Er/Yb silicate material in high-index silicon. A 1.7 dB signal enhancement at 1.53 μm in a 6 mm-long slot waveguide was observed through 1476 nm pumping. The peak Er emission cross-section is determined as 7.53×10(-21) cm2 and the excited Er ion fraction is 0.17. Our experiment shows that the defects in upper c-Si of Si-on-insulator (SOI) and deposited α-Si distorts photoluminescence spectrum and prevents further optical amplification. This negative effect can be partly corrected through annealing treatment, which allows better propagation of the pump light, therefore, stronger excitation in the sandwiched Er/Yb silicate. The defects also affect the 1.53 μm decay curve and are the dominant lifetime reduction mechanism in the active slot waveguide.     

Compact triplexer in two-dimensional hexagonal lattice photonic crystals

We design a compact triplexer based on two-dimensional (2D) hexagonal lattice photonic crystals (PCs).A folded directional coupler (FDC) is introduced in the triplexer beside the point-defect micro-cavities and line-defect waveguides.Because of the reflection feedback of the FDC,high channel drop efficiency can be realized and a compact size with the order of micrometers can be maintained.The proposed device is analyzed using the plane wave expansion method,and its transmission characteristics are calculated using the finite-difference time-domain method.The footprint of the triplexer is about 12× 9 μm,and its extinction ratios are less than –20 dB for 1310 nm,approximately –20 dB for 1490 nm,and under –40 dB for 1550 nm,making it a potentially essential device in future fiber-to-the-home networks.     

Photonic crystal fiber polarization filter with two large apertures coated with gold layers

A novel photonic crystal fiber(PCF) polarization filter is designed and fabricated; it consists of two large apertures coated with gold. The asymmetric structure separates the resonance position in the vertical direction well. Due to the metal layer covering, loss is greatly improved. Finite element method is applied for numerical simulation. The influences of varying gold thickness and varying the diameters and the center positions of the larger apertures on filtering performance are evaluated. Theory of coupling between surface plasma and core mode is introduced. By modulating the parameters, we realize a single polarization filter at 1.31 μm and 1.55 μm. The basal mode loss in the y direction can reach 1408.80 dB/cm at 1.31 μm and 1911.22 dB/cm at 1.55 μm respectively, but basal mode loss in the x direction is relatively small, 0.82 dB/cm and 1.87 dB/cm. In addition, two kinds of broadband polarization filters are proposed. If the fiber length is set to 200 μm,the extinction ratio is greater than 20 dB with width of 570 nm and 490 nm. The filter has simple structure and excellent performance.     

硅衬底上锗硅合金光波导的研制

报道锗硅合金在λ＝１．３μｍ的脊形单模光波导的设计，工艺及测量结果。这种光波导的传播损耗已达０．７ｄＢ／ｃｍ。脊形的高４－８μｍ，宽８－１２μｍ，均和单模光纤芯径相当，此外，其数值孔径在光波导的输入，输出端均能和单模光纤匹配，它已满足硅光集成对光波导的要求。文中最后报道了用这种锗硅合金光波导试制Ｙ分支器，并观察到二支分路输出的单模光斑。     

Low-loss polymeric optical waveguides with large cores fabricated by hot embossing

A simple low-cost method of fabricating polymeric optical waveguides with large core sizes for plastic optical fibers is presented. The waveguides are fabricated by hot embossing with an ultraviolet-cured epoxy resin stamper. The stamper is fabricated by replication of a rectangular groove mold that is made from silicone rubber replicated from a ridged original silicon master. The master is fabricated by anisotropic etching of (110) single-crystal silicon. Optical waveguides with large core sizes of 100-500 microm have been fabricated, and a low propagation loss of 0.19 dB/cm at 650 nm was achieved.