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Published on: November 30, 2012
Slot waveguides with polycrystalline silicon for electrical injection
1School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
Optics Express
|February 4, 2009
Summary
We developed silicon slot waveguides for enhanced light-matter interactions. These waveguides show potential for efficient, electrically pumped silicon light sources.
Area of Science:
- Photonics and optoelectronics
- Materials science
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Slot waveguides confine light in a low-index layer between high-index materials.
- Silicon photonics is crucial for integrated optical circuits and devices.
- Achieving efficient light sources in silicon remains a significant challenge.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate horizontal slot waveguides using silicon-based materials.
- To investigate the potential for modal gain enhancement in the slot region.
- To enable electrically pumped silicon light sources.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of slot waveguides with polycrystalline and single crystalline silicon layers separated by silicon dioxide.
- Measurement of waveguide propagation loss.
- Characterization of ring resonator quality factor.
Main Results:
- Waveguide propagation loss of 7 dB/cm was measured.
- An intrinsic quality factor of 83,000 was achieved for ring resonators.
- Strong electric field enhancement in the low-index slot layer was observed.
Conclusions:
- The demonstrated silicon slot waveguides facilitate strong light-matter interaction.
- Conductive silicon layers enable charge transport for potential electrical pumping.
- These structures are a key step towards electrically pumped silicon light sources.
