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High-Q CMOS-integrated photonic crystal microcavity devices
Karan K Mehta1, Jason S Orcutt1, Ofer Tehar-Zahav2
1Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and Research Laboratory of Electronics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA 02139.
Scientific Reports
|February 13, 2014
Summary
We developed silicon photonic crystal microresonators using CMOS fabrication. These devices enable efficient, integrated optical detection for advanced photonic systems.
Area of Science:
- Photonics
- Materials Science
- Electrical Engineering
Background:
- Integrated optical resonators are crucial for classical communication, optical sensing, and quantum technologies.
- Photonic crystal (PhC) microresonators offer advantages over microring devices, but their fabrication typically hinders CMOS integration.
- Electron-beam lithography, commonly used for PhC cavities, is incompatible with large-scale, reproducible CMOS manufacturing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate wavelength-scale polycrystalline silicon (pSi) PhC microresonators fabricated within a bulk CMOS process.
- To enable integrated optical detection with active electro-optic capability in silicon photonic systems.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of quasi-1D resonators in lateral p-i-n structures using bulk CMOS processes.
- Characterization of microresonators for optical sensing and communication applications.
- Integration of PhC microresonators with photodetection capabilities.
Main Results:
- Achieved polycrystalline silicon (pSi) PhC microresonators with quality factors (Q) up to 60,000.
- Demonstrated resonant defect-state photodetection in all-silicon devices.
- Observed voltage-dependent quantum efficiencies (tens of %), few-GHz bandwidths, and low dark currents in devices with loaded Qs of 4,300-9,300.
Conclusions:
- This work paves the way for practical integration of PhC microresonators with active electro-optic functions into large-scale silicon photonic systems.
- The demonstrated CMOS-compatible fabrication enables the scalable production of advanced photonic integrated circuits.
- The developed devices show potential for high-performance optical sensing and communication applications.
