Silicon antiresonant reflecting optical waveguides.

Area of Science:

• Photonics and Optical Engineering
• Materials Science

Background:

• Silicon photonics is crucial for integrated optical circuits.
• Efficient light confinement and propagation in silicon waveguides are key challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and analyze a new silicon waveguide structure, ARROW-C, for operation at 1.3 micrometers.
• To investigate the potential of leaky-mode propagation using buried dielectric or semiconductor layers.

Main Methods:

• Theoretical analysis and simulation of the ARROW-C waveguide structure.
• Modeling optical tunneling through thin buried layers (SiO(2) or beta-SiC) of 14-23 nm thickness.
• Predicting propagation loss for TE(0) and TM(0) modes in a 5-microm-thick Si core.

Main Results:

• A propagation loss of approximately 0.5 dB/cm is predicted for the fundamental modes (TE(0), TM(0)) in the ARROW-C waveguide.
• The proposed structure enables leaky-mode propagation via optical tunneling.
• Novel ARROW-A and ARROW-B silicon waveguide designs using GeSi and SiO(2) layers are also presented.

Conclusions:

• The ARROW-C silicon waveguide offers a promising low-loss solution for optical applications at 1.3 micrometers.
• Buried dielectric/semiconductor layers are effective for achieving leaky-mode propagation in silicon photonics.
• Further exploration of ARROW-A and ARROW-B designs may yield additional benefits for integrated optics.