Silicon waveguides and devices for the mid-infrared

Abstract

We report on the design, fabrication, and characterization of silicon-on-insulator rib and strip waveguides at wavelengths longer than 3.7 μm. Propagation losses of 1.5 ± 0.2 dB/cm at 3.73 μm and 1.8 ± 0.2 dB/cm at 3.8 μm have been measured for rib waveguides, whilst submicron strip waveguides exhibited propagation losses of 4.6 ± 1.1 dB/cm at the wavelength of 3.74 μm. A 1×2 multimode interference (MMI) splitter and racetrack resonators based on submicron strip waveguides are also examined. Optical losses of 3.6 ± 0.2 dB/MMI and a racetrack resonator Q-value of 8.2 k are obtained at 3.74 μm.