Research into Two Photonic-Integrated Waveguides Based on SiGe Material.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Optoelectronics
• Semiconductor Physics

Background:

• Silicon Germanium (SiGe) is a key semiconductor material for advanced electronic and photonic devices.
• Photonic-integrated circuits (PICs) leverage SiGe for enhanced functionality.
• Optimizing waveguide performance is crucial for efficient light manipulation in PICs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the waveguide performance of SiGe-OI and SiGe-SOI structures.
• To identify which SiGe waveguide design offers superior optical loss characteristics.
• To validate simulation predictions with experimental fabrication and testing.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of SiGe-OI and SiGe-SOI waveguide structures.
• Optical simulation to analyze effective refractive index and loss characteristics.
• Experimental testing of fabricated waveguides to measure transmission losses at various widths and low Germanium content.

Main Results:

• Simulations indicated SiGe-OI waveguides have better loss characteristics at 1.55 μm wavelength.
• Experimental results confirmed SiGe-OI waveguides exhibit lower transmission losses (36.6% and 28.3% reduction at 400 nm and 600 nm widths, respectively) compared to SiGe-SOI.
• SiGe-OI waveguides showed improved loss performance with low Germanium content.

Conclusions:

• SiGe-OI waveguides offer superior optical performance compared to SiGe-SOI waveguides.
• The findings support the use of SiGe-OI for low-loss photonic integration.
• Experimental validation confirms the theoretical advantages of SiGe-OI structures.