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Low-loss silicon wire waveguides for optical integrated circuits

  • Plasmonics, Photonics, and Metamaterials Research Letter
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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 au]0._40 dB/cm for the C-band and au]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.

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Acknowledgments

This research was partly supported by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). The authors thank Mr. M. Seki, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), for his valuable information and discussion about ArF immersion lithography technology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Photonics Electronics Technology Research Association (PETRA), 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba, 305-8569, Japan

    Tsuyoshi Horikawa, Daisuke Shimura & Tohru Mogami

  2. National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba, 305-8569, Japan

    Tsuyoshi Horikawa

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  1. Tsuyoshi Horikawa
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Correspondence to Tsuyoshi Horikawa.

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Horikawa, T., Shimura, D. & Mogami, T. Low-loss silicon wire waveguides for optical integrated circuits. MRS Communications 6, 9–15 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2015.84

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