This paper reports for, the first time, the influence of silicon nanocrystals on the photoluminescence and optical gain of Yb3+/Er3+ codoped Bi2O3−GeO2 waveguides for amplification at 1542 nm. Pedestal waveguides were fabricated by RF- sputtering followed by optical lithography and reactive ion etching. RF-sputtering followed by heat treatment produced silicon nanocrystals with average size of 8 nm and resulted in a photoluminescence enhancement of about 10 times for the 520 nm and 1530 nm emission bands. The resulting internal gain was 5.5 dB/cm at 1542 nm, which represents and enhancement of ∼50%, demonstrating potential for applications in integrated optics.
Random lasers are laser sources in which the feedback is provided by scattering instead of reflection and which, for this reason, do not require surfaces with optical finish such as mirrors. The investigation of such lasing action in a large variety of disordered materials is a subject of high interest with very important applications such as threedimensional and speckle-free imaging, detection of cancer tissue and photonic coding and encryption. However, potential applications require optimization of random laser performance especially with respect to optical efficiency and directionality or brightness. This work demonstrates such an optimization procedure with the goal of achieving a random laser with sufficient efficiency and brightness in order to be used in practical applications. Two random lasers are demonstrated, one solid and on liquid, that fulfil directionality and efficiency requirements. The first one consists of a neodymium doped powder laser with a record slope efficiency of 1.6%. The second one is a liquid random laser injected into a HC-ARROW waveguide which uses a microchannel connected to a much larger reservoir in order to achieve the necessary directionality. Both devices can be produced by low cost fabricating technologies and easily integrated into next-generation, lab-on-chip devices used for in-situ determination of infectious tropical diseases, which is the main goal of this project.
The purpose of this work is to analyze by simulation the coupling effects occurring in Arrayed Waveguide Grating (AWG) using the finite difference beam propagation method (FD-BPM). Conventional FD-BPM techniques do not immediately lend themselves to the analysis of large structures such as AWG. Cooper et al.1 introduced a description of the coupling between the interface of arrayed waveguides and star couplers using the numerically-assisted coupled-mode theory. However, when the arrayed waveguides are spatially close, such that, there is strong coupling between them, and coupled-mode theory is not adequate. On the other hand, Payne2 developed an exact eigenvalue equation for the super modes of a straight arrayed waveguide which involve a computational overhead. In this work, an integration of both methods is accomplished in order to describe the behavior of the propagation of light in guided curves. This new method is expected to reduce the necessary effort for simulation while also enabling the simulation of large and curved arrayed waveguides using a fully vectorial finite difference technique.
In previous works it was demonstrated that the electrical resistivity of Polypyrrole (PPY) changes when
exposed to different organic solvents which allowed the development of applications in gas sensors [1,2].
Also, is well known that optical gas sensors have several advantages over conventional electronic ones like
high sensitivity, reduced signal-to-noise ratio, and compatibility with combustible gases.
The optical properties of polymer materials have became of great importance in modern optical design of
polymer based optical sensors and devices. Thin polymer films appear in an ample spectrum of applications
such as photonics, data storage, communications and sensor devices [3]. In this work an optical sensor for the
detection of water vapor using Polypyrrole (PPY) as active material is proposed. As a first step in studying
polypyrrole for this application, the refractive index of this material was measured after the films were
exposed to water vapor, and the results showed a variation of the refractive indices of the polymer in the
wavelength of 632.8 nm.
Finally, an optical device was fabricated using integrated optics technology over silicon, which uses
polypyrrole as active layer for sensing. The results of the characterization of this optical device showed that
for relative humidity concentrations above a specific value (~70%) the optical power at the output of the
device decays to insignificant values, which allows for the device to be used as an optical switch.
In this work we propose an integration of two kinds of optical devices: an incandescent micro lamp and an
interferometric filter, both fabricated on silicon technology. The micro lamp is based on a chromium micro resistor,
working as a lamp filament, embedded between two oxynitride films and self-sustained through the partial silicon
substrate etching using KOH solutions. The interferometric filters were fabricated through the deposition of periodically
alternated PECVD Si3N4 and SiO2 films whose thicknesses were previously defined by numerical simulations. We
present the fabrication of these two devices separately and its integration in a hybrid way. The results demonstrated that
light filtering can be obtained on micro-lamps light emission spectrums when integrated with interferometric filters, at
the wavelength intervals defined by filter transmittance spectrums. Electrical characterization allowed determining the
necessary current to obtain constant and stable light emission from micro lamps. The possibility of integration in a
unique process, in a quasi-monolithic integration, is proposed.
The applicability of anti-resonant reflecting optical waveguides fabricated on silicon substrates has been demonstrated
for different optical devices and sensors. In particular, it has been shown that in order to have virtual single-mode
operation in ARROWs, smaller constraints are imposed in the thickness and refractive index of the constituent layers
than in the case of Total Internal Reflection waveguides. On the other hand, if rib ARROWs are fabricated through
Reactive Ion Etching (RIE), high sidewall roughness is observed if metallic mask is used, which leads to undesirable
losses. This can be improved if the RIE step is done in the lower layers, leading to rounder but smoother core sidewalls.
In this work we present an alternative method for achieving the lateral confinement in ARROW waveguides fabricated
with silicon technology. This method consists in doing the RIE step before the core definition so as to have the lower
cladding layer and part of the silicon substrate etched away. Pedestal hollow core ARROWs have been proposed and
fabricated but in the case of conventional ARROW waveguides this has not been done, to our best knowledge.
Simulations results regarding propagation losses are presented for different rib heights and widths and compared to
experimental results.
Aluminum Nitride (AlN) is a wide band gap III-V semiconductor material often used for optical applications due to its
transparency and high refractive index. We have produced and characterized AlN thin films by reactive r.f. magnetron
sputtering in different Ar-N2 atmospheres in order to verify the best gaseous concentration to be utilized as anti-resonant
layer in ARROW waveguides. The corresponding films were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
(FTIR), Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS), Ellipsometry and visible optical absorption. The AlN properties
did not varied significantly between the films deposited with 20 and 70 sccm of N2, most of the variations occurred for
films deposited with 18 sccm of N2 or below. The film deposited with 20 sccm was selected to be used as the first
ARROW layer in the fabricated waveguides. Two routines were used to design the waveguides parameters, the transfer
matrix method (TMM) and the semi-vectorial non-uniform finite difference method (NU-FDM). Attenuation as low as
3.5dB/cm was obtained for a 7 μm wide waveguide.
In this work we report one simple fabrication process to build incandescent microlamps over silicon microtips. By taking
advantage of the underetch observed when the Si substrate is anisotropically etched in KOH solutions, specific silicon
microtips are created which serve as mechanical supports for the incandescent light sources. A thin film of chrome is
deposited by sputtering technique above the microtip and defined by photolitography in order to create an electrical
resistance. Consequently, the electrical energy transformed in heat is concentrated in a small spot achieving temperatures
high enough to produce incandescent light similar to a blackbody spectrum. To reduce the heat loss caused by the high
thermal conductivity of silicon, a layer of silicon dioxide (SiO2) placed between substrate and metal was necessary to
avoid the use of large electrical currents to generate the incandescence in the light source. A SiO2 film is also used as a
protection layer against moisture and specially oxygen, since at high temperatures chrome can easily oxidize losing its
electrical conductivity. As the microtips are very tall compared to photoresist thickness, the lift-off process was needed in
order to guarantee that the top of the microtip would be covered by chrome. The results showed that it is possible to
produce light in all visible spectrum by applying electrical power higher than 4 W.
In this work we describe the fabrication and characterization of MOEMS-based integrated optical switches with
improved ON/OFF performance. These structures consist of silicon oxynitride-based optical waveguides, through which
a light beam of 633-nm can be conducted, and mobile thermo-electro actuated cantilevers, which form part of the
waveguide and can work as ON-OFF switches for the laser. These switches allow the laser light to pass or block the laser
light when activated electrically. The cantilevers are fabricated by freeing regions of the waveguide, which is done by
front side micromachining the silicon wafer used as substrate. Also, they are actuated electrically through the heating of
a metallic resistance positioned in the device, where the applied current heats the cantilevers and, due to the difference in
thermal expansion coefficients of the constituent materials, it is possible to produce a controlled motion proportional to
the heating current. Therefore, the switches can be electrically polarized in on/off cycles allowing or blocking the light
through the waveguide, similar to logic "1's" and "0's".
(This paper was presented in Session 4, Waveguide Devices, during the MEMS and Miniaturized Systems VIII conference.)
This work shows improvements on previous results related to the integration of optical waveguides and simple light
sources. These previous results showed the possibility of coupling the light emitted from an incandescent chromium
filament embedded in a self-supported region of silicon oxynitride (SiOxNy) film with a SiOxNy waveguide. This specific
work aims to increase optical power coupled to the waveguide through the investigation of the geometry of the
microlamp. Here, the length of the incandescent light is analyzed. The waveguide are fabricated on a (100) silicon
substrate using silicon oxynitride deposited by PECVD as the core and cladding layers. Bulk micromachining of the
silicon substrate in KOH solution is used to free from the substrate the embedded filament, reducing the thermal
dissipation of that region, allowing the filament to heat up to incandescent temperatures. A microannealing process of a
PECVD-obtained amorphous hydrogenated silicon carbide (a-SiC:H) deposited over the microlamp allows the correct
coupling of the light.
In this work we describe the fabrication and characterization of micro-opto-electro-mechanical AND, OR and XOR logic
gates based in a combination of optical and micro-electro-mechanical devices. These structures consist of silicon
oxynitride-based optical waveguides, through which a light beam of 633-nm can be conducted, and mobile thermo-electro
actuated cantilevers, which form part of the waveguide and can work as ON-OFF switches for the laser. These
switches are combined to form AND, OR and XOR gates, allowing the laser light to pass or blocking the laser light
when activated electrically. The cantilevers are fabricated by freeing regions of the waveguide, which is done by front
side micromachining the silicon wafer used as substrate. Also, they are actuated electrically through the heating of a
metallic resistance positioned in the device, where the applied current heats the cantilevers and, due to the difference in
thermal expansion coefficients of the constituent materials, it is possible to produce a controlled motion proportional to
the heating current. Therefore, the switches can be electrically polarized in on/off cycles allowing or blocking the light
through the waveguide, similar to logic "1's" and "0's". These switches are adequately arranged to produce an output
that is similar to the conventional digital logic gates through electric control (input) of cantilever-based ON-OFF
switches.
In this work, slab and strip optical waveguides were fabricated onto silicon substrates using silicon oxynitride (SiOxNy) films, with different chemical compositions, as core and cladding layers. In order to obtain high optical quality and low attenuation levels the nitrogen composition in the core and cladding films were varied from 0% up to ~31% and the index contrast from 1% up to 6%. The constituent materials were deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technique and characterized by a prism coupling system in order to obtain the refractive index and the thickness values. On the other hand, the slab and strip optical waveguides were annealed at 550°C in vacuum during 2 hours and characterized optically by the moving fiber method and by the end-fire coupling technique, respectively. The results of the optical characterizations in the waveguide structures showed a decrease in their optical losses of up to 50% after the annealing treatment, which can be related with an improvement in the local structure and in the quality of the interface of the constituent films.
In this work, silicon oxynitride (SiOxNy) films with different chemical compositions were deposited by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technique and used as core and cladding in optical slab and strip waveguides in order to obtain high quality optical devices with low attenuations. The refractive index and optical loss measurements of the PECVD SiOxNy-based waveguides were obtained by a prism coupler system. On the other hand, etching experiments, using a Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) system, were also accomplished in order to define vertical walls on optical strip waveguide structures. The results of the optical characterizations showed that it is possible to obtain slab waveguides with optical loss as low as 0.4 dB/cm depending on the chemical composition of the core and cladding layers. In this way, the feasibility of using SiOxNy films for the fabrication of optical waveguide structures is demonstrated.
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