Effects of Post-Etch Microstructures on the Optical Transmittance of Silica Ridge Waveguides

Silica waveguides are often etched by reactive ion etch (RIE) processes. These processes can leave residual topography that can increase optical loss. We investigated the relation between optical loss and various RIE etch. A wet etch step meant to remove microstructures was also considered and compared. Ridge waveguides were fabricated in plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposited films by three different RIE processes, each with a different gas composition, pressure setting, and applied power setting. Half of each set of waveguides were also subjected to a hydrofluoric acid (HF) solution. The waveguides were tested for optical transmission via the cutback method. The transmission vs waveguide length measurements were plotted to fit an exponential curve and the optical loss and measurement uncertainty for each waveguide set was calculated. Clear distinctions in optical loss were found between the different RIE processes. The HF treatment also has an effect, significantly reducing optical loss for two processes and increasing it for the third. Of the tested RIE processes, one can be suggested for silica waveguides. It results in the lowest optical loss and coincidently has the fastest etch rate.