Deuterated silicon dioxide for heterogeneous integration of ultra-low-loss waveguides

Author(s)
W. Jin, D. D. John, J. F. Bauters, T. Bosch, B. J. Thibeault, and J. E. Bowers
Publication Image
plot of waveguide loss
Publication Date
Publication Type
Journal
Journal/Conference Name
Optics Letters
Indexing
Vol. 45, Issue 12, pp. 3340-3343

Ultra-low-loss waveguide fabrication typically requires high-temperature annealing beyond 1000◦C to reduce the hydrogen content in deposited dielectric films. However, realizing the full potential of an ultra-low loss will require the integration of active materials that cannot tolerate high temperature. Uniting ultra-low-loss waveguides with on-chip sources, modulators, and detectors will require a low-temperature, low-loss dielectric to serve as a passivation and spacer layers for complex fabrication processes. We report a 250◦C deuterated silicon dioxide film for top cladding in ultra-low-loss waveguides. Using multiple techniques, we measure propagation loss below 12 dB/m for the entire 1200–1650 nm range and top-cladding material absorption below 1 dB/m in the S, C, and L bands.

Publication File
Research Areas
Silicon Photonics