Horizontal single and multiple slot waveguides: optical transmission at λ = 1550 nm

We experimentally demonstrate the optical transmission at 1550 nm of the fundamental slot modes (quasi-TM modes) in horizontal single and multiple slot waveguides and ring resonators consisting of deposited amorphous silicon and silicon dioxide. We demonstrate that the horizontal multiple slot configuration provides enhanced optical confinement in low index slot regions compared to a horizontal single slot structure with the same total SiO2 layer thickness by comparing their thermo-optic coefficients for the horizontal slot ring resonators. We show in these early structures that horizontal slot waveguides have low propagation loss of 6 ~ 7 dB/cm. The waveguide loss is mainly due to a-Si material absorption. The addition of aSi/SiO2 interfaces does not introduce significant scattering loss in a horizontal multiple slot waveguide compared to a horizontal single slot waveguide. ©2007 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: (130.2790) Guided waves; (130.3120) Integrated optics devices; (230.7380) Waveguides, channeled; (240.5770) Roughness; (160.6840) Thermo-optical materials References and links 1. T. Baehr-Jones, M. Hochberg, G. Wang, R. Lawson, Y. Liao, P. A. Sullivan, L. Dalton, A. K.-Y. Jen, A. Scherer, “Optical modulation and detection in slotted Silicon waveguides,” Opt. Express 13, 5216 (2005) 2. C. A. Barrios, M. Lipson, “Electrically driven silicon resonant light emitting device based on slotwaveguide,” Opt. Express 13, 10092 (2005) 3. T. Fujisawa, M. Koshiba, “Guided Modes of Nonlinear Slot Waveguides,” IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 8, 1530 (2006) 4. P. Andrew Anderson, Bradley S. Schmidt and Michal Lipson, “High confinement in silicon slot waveguides with sharp bends,” Opt. Express 14 9197 (2006) 5. Q. Xu, V. R. Almeida, R. R. Panepucci, and M. Lipson, “Experimental demonstration of guiding and confining light in nanometer-size low-refractive-index material,” Opt. Lett. 29, 1626 (2004) 6. N. N. Feng, J. Michel, and L C. Kimerling, “Optical field concentration in low-index waveguides,” IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 42, (2006) 7. T. Baehr-Jones, M. Hochberg, C. Walker, and A. Scherer, “High-Q optical resonators in silicon-oninsulator-based slot waveguides,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 86, 081101 (2005) 8. P. Karminow, L. W Stulz, “Loss in cleaved Ti-diffused LiNbO3 waveguides,” Appl. Phys. Lett. 33, 62 (1978) 9. L.A. Eldada, “Polymer integrated optics: promise versus practicality,” Proceedings of SPIE 4642, Organic Photonic Materials and Devices IV, 11 (2002) #89376 $15.00 USD Received 6 Nov 2007; revised 11 Dec 2007; accepted 12 Dec 2007; published 17 Dec 2007 (C) 2007 OSA 24 December 2007 / Vol. 15, No. 26 / OPTICS EXPRESS 17967