One-Step Lithographic Photonic Integrated Circuit with a Single-Mode Laser on All Bloch-Surface-Wave Platform.

Area of Science:

• Photonics
• Integrated Optics
• Materials Science

Background:

• Compact, low-loss photonic integrated circuits (PICs) are crucial for on-chip optical technologies.
• Bloch surface waves (BSWs) on all-dielectric multilayers offer lower propagation losses than plasmonic alternatives.
• BSWs provide a promising platform for developing advanced PICs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To experimentally demonstrate a one-step lithographic photonic integrated circuit (PIC) on a Bloch surface wave (BSW) platform.
• To integrate key photonic components, including a BSW distributed feedback (DFB) laser, waveguide, and grating coupler, onto a single chip.
• To validate the feasibility of BSWs for high-performance, compact, all-surface-wave integrated photonic systems.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a BSW-based PIC using a one-step lithographic process.
• Integration of a BSW distributed feedback (DFB) laser, a 100 μm-long BSW waveguide, and a BSW grating coupler on a single chip.
• Characterization of the BSW DFB laser's lasing properties and the functionality of the integrated waveguide and grating coupler.

Main Results:

• Successful demonstration of a single-chip, one-step lithographic PIC on a BSW platform.
• The BSW DFB laser exhibited robust, single-mode lasing with a narrow full-width at half-maximum (fwhm) of 0.11 nm.
• Demonstrated successful guiding of laser emission through the BSW waveguide and extraction via the grating out-coupler, confirming functional integration.

Conclusions:

• The experimental demonstration validates the use of BSWs for creating integrated photonic circuits.
• BSW-based PICs offer a viable path towards high-performance, long-range, and compact all-surface-wave optical systems.
• This work paves the way for advanced on-chip optical technologies utilizing Bloch surface waves.