Athermal Wavelength Filters toward Optical Interconnection to LSIs

Abstract

Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) produced by large-scale integration (LSI) on Si platforms have been intensively researched. Since thermal diffusion from the LSI logic layer is a serious obstacle to realizing a Si-based optical integrated circuit, we have proposed and realized athermal wavelength filters using Si slot waveguides embedded with benzocyclobutene (BCB). First, the athermal conditions were theoretically investigated by controlling the waveguide and gap width of the slot waveguides. In order to introduce the calculated waveguide structures to wavelength filters, the propagation losses and bending losses of the Si slot waveguides were evaluated. The propagation losses were measured to be 5.6 and 5.3dB/cm for slot waveguide widths of 500 and 700nm, respectively. Finally, athermal wavelength filters, a ring resonator, and a Mach-Zhender interferometer (MZI) with a slot waveguide width of 700nm were designed and fabricated. Further, a temperature coefficient of -0.9pm/K for the operating wavelength was achieved with the athermal MZI.