Gamma radiation effects in amorphous silicon and silicon nitride photonic devices

Understanding radiation damage is of significant importance for devices operating in radiation-harsh environments. In this Letter, we present a systematic study on gamma radiation effects in amorphous silicon and silicon nitride guided wave devices. It is found that gamma radiation increases the waveguide modal effective indices by as much as 4×10^-3 in amorphous silicon and 5×10^-4 in silicon nitride at 10 Mrad dose. This Letter further reveals that surface oxidation and radiation-induced densification account for the observed index change.