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Suspended silicon mid-infrared waveguide devices with subwavelength grating metamaterial cladding
Optics Express
|November 10, 2016
Summary
Researchers developed novel silicon photonic devices using subwavelength grating metamaterials for mid-infrared wavelengths. This breakthrough achieves low propagation loss, paving the way for broader silicon waveguide applications.
Area of Science:
- Photonics
- Metamaterials
- Integrated Optics
Background:
- Silicon photonics is crucial for optical communication and sensing.
- Extending silicon waveguide operation to longer wavelengths (mid-infrared) is challenging.
- Subwavelength grating metamaterials offer unique optical properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design, fabricate, and characterize fundamental photonic building blocks using suspended silicon waveguides.
- To demonstrate these devices in the 3715–3800 nm wavelength range for the first time.
- To achieve low propagation loss in silicon waveguides for mid-infrared applications.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing suspended silicon waveguides.
- Employing lateral cladding composed of subwavelength grating metamaterial.
- Designing and fabricating waveguide bends, multimode interference devices, and Mach-Zehnder interferometers.
- Characterizing device performance at mid-infrared wavelengths.
Main Results:
- Demonstration of waveguide bends, MMI devices, and MZIs operating at 3715–3800 nm.
- Achieved a waveguide propagation loss of 0.82 dB/cm.
- Reported some of the lowest loss values for silicon waveguides in this wavelength range.
Conclusions:
- The developed photonic building blocks are suitable for mid-infrared applications.
- The subwavelength grating metamaterial platform enables low-loss operation in silicon waveguides.
- This work provides a pathway to extend silicon wire waveguides across the entire silicon transparency window.
