High confinement micron-scale silicon nitride high Q ring resonator

Area of Science:

• Photonics and optical engineering
• Materials science for integrated optics

Background:

• Silicon nitride (SiN) is a promising material for photonic integrated circuits due to its low optical loss and broad transparency.
• Ring resonators are key components for various photonic applications, including filtering and sensing, but their performance is limited by optical losses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate high-confinement, low-loss silicon nitride ring resonators.
• To achieve a high intrinsic quality factor (Q) in the telecommunication C-band.
• To quantify scattering and absorption losses in the fabricated resonators.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of silicon nitride ring resonators using advanced lithography and etching techniques.
• Characterization of resonator performance, including Q factor measurements.
• Decomposition of total optical loss into scattering and absorption components.

Main Results:

• Achieved an intrinsic quality factor (Q) of 3*10^6.
• Demonstrated operation in the telecommunication C-band (1550 nm).
• Measured scattering losses below 0.065 dB/cm and absorption losses below 0.055 dB/cm.

Conclusions:

• High-confinement, low-loss silicon nitride ring resonators are feasible.
• The demonstrated performance enables advanced photonic integrated circuit applications.
• Further improvements in fabrication can lead to even lower loss devices.