Low-loss silicon wire waveguides for optical integrated circuits
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lasmonics, Photonics, and Metamaterials Research Letter
Low-loss silicon wire waveguides for optical integrated circuits Tsuyoshi Horikawa*, Photonics Electronics Technology Research Association (PETRA), 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba 305-8569, Japan; National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba 305-8569, Japan Daisuke Shimura, and Tohru Mogami, Photonics Electronics Technology Research Association (PETRA), 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba 305-8569, Japan *Address all correspondence to Tsuyoshi Horikawa at [email protected] (Received 14 October 2015; accepted 14 December 2015)
Abstract Low-propagation-loss silicon wire waveguides are key components of optical integrated circuits. In this paper, we clarified, through assessment of the relationship between waveguide loss and fabrication technology that high-resolution lithography and an adjusted lithography process window are important for low-loss waveguides. The silicon wire waveguides fabricated by high-resolution lithography technology using ArF immersion lithography process showed world-record low propagation losses of 0.40 dB/cm for the C-band and 1.28 dB/cm for the O-band. Analysis with Barwicz and Haus’s theory indicated that sidewall scattering is the main cause of propagation loss even in such low-loss waveguides.
Introduction Optical integrated circuits using silicon photonics technology have been expected to be a solution to the bandwidth bottleneck problem both in data transmission among large scale integration (LSI) circuits and in long-haul communication.[1–3] A silicon photonics transceiver for the above communication consists of a continuous-wave light source array and optical modulator array in the transmitter circuit and a photodetector array in the receiver circuit.[4,5] Silicon waveguides of rib type[4] or wire type[5] structure are used to optically connect these devices. The wire waveguide has the advantage of lower emission loss at a corner with a short bending radius because the propagating light in wire waveguides is more strongly confined in the waveguide core. Using the wire waveguides has made it possible to make optical transceivers with a footprint of only several tens of square millimeters.[5] The problem with the wire waveguides is their relatively higher propagation loss. The propagation loss of wire waveguides has been reported to be a few decibels per centimeter,[6–20] whereas that of rib waveguides has been reported to be
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