High confinement suspended micro-ring resonators in silicon-on-insulator

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Optical Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Ring resonators are fundamental components in integrated photonics.
• Achieving high quality factors (Q-factors) is crucial for device performance.
• Suspension methods can introduce optical losses and mode perturbations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate suspended micrometer-scale ring resonators with ultra-high Q-factors.
• To present a novel suspension technique minimizing optical mode disturbance.
• To quantify the insertion loss associated with the suspension bridges.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of micrometer-scale silicon nitride ring resonators.
• Development of a specialized suspension method to decouple support arms from the resonator.
• Optical characterization to measure Q-factors and insertion loss.

Main Results:

• Achieved Q-factors exceeding 15,000 for suspended ring resonators.
• Demonstrated minimal disturbance to the optical mode by the support structures.
• Measured insertion loss below 0.02 dB per suspension bridge.

Conclusions:

• The developed suspension method enables high-performance suspended ring resonators.
• Ultra-high Q-factors and low insertion loss are achievable simultaneously.
• This technology is promising for advanced photonic integrated circuits and sensing applications.