A. Tarraf

Stress investigation of PECVD dielectric layers for advanced optical MEMS

Detailed stress investigations of silicon nitride and silicon dioxide defined by PECVD are presented. The spatial variation of the stress of the dielectric material is evaluated by both, laser induced diffraction imaging method (macroscopically averaged stress) and by a large number of laterally distributed MEMS structures on the wafer (microscopically detected stress). By changing the duty cycle of two different plasma excitation frequencies during the deposition, the stress of silicon nitride (deposited at 300 °C) is controlled in a wide range from +850 MPa (compressive) to −300 MPa (tensile). A similar dependence is also observed for silicon nitride deposited at 60 °C. In contrast, silicon dioxide shows in both cases no strong frequency dependence. The microscopically detecting involves a low cost MEMS technology based on photoresist as sacrificial layer. Applying this technology, differently shaped Fabry–Perot filter membranes with various stress values are implemented. The cavity length of the filters and the radii of curvatures of the upper DBR membranes are also varied. Concave, convex and flat membranes with radii of curvature of −0.31 mm, 0.19 mm and −184.71 mm, respectively, are produced.

Ultralow biased widely continuously tunable fabry-Perot filter

Optical filters capable of single control parameter-based wide tuning are implemented and studied. The surface micromachined Fabry-Perot filter consists of two InP-air-gap distributed Bragg reflectors and shows a wavelength tuning of more than 140 nm using only a single voltage of up to 3.2 V at currents below 0.2 mA. The membrane-based filter is designed to block all wavelengths in the whole range of 1250-1800 nm apart from its transmission wavelength.

Modeling of ultrawidely tunable vertical cavity air-gap filters and VCSELs

Tunable vertical cavity devices including an air-gap integrated in the cavity have been designed, fabricated, and investigated. The ultrawide wavelength tuning is realized by micromechanical actuation of Bragg mirror membranes. Based on optical and mechanical model calculations, the air-gap filters and vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) are designed for investigating mainly the optical tuning efficiency. In our research, we focus on two different mirror material systems, dielectric Si/sub 3/N/sub 4//SiO/sub 2/ and InP/air-gap Bragg mirrors and on two tuning concepts, respectively. For the dielectric mirrors, continuous tuning is achieved by thermal actuation of the Si/sub 3/N/sub 4//SiO/sub 2/ mirror membranes, and for InP/air-gap mirrors, electrostatic actuation of the InP membranes is used. To verify the optical and mechanical simulations, InP/air-gap filters are characterized by measuring reflectance spectra and the tuning behavior. The measured results agree with the simulations used to optimize the micromechanical and optical characteristics of air-gap filters and VCSELs for optical communication applications.

Tuning efficiency and linewidth of electrostatically actuated multiple air-gap filters

We investigated the tuning efficiency of electrostatically actuated multiple air-gap filters fabricated in InP for dense wavelength division multiplex applications by comparing measured tuning curves with the results of optical and mechanical simulations. These filters exhibit a record tuning range of 127 nm at 7.3 V tuning voltage. The filters were measured in reflection using standard single mode fiber. The subsequent analysis is based on a one-dimensional electromechanical and optical model providing a reasonable estimation for the pull-in voltage. Optical simulations show that the filter linewidth does not affect the tuning efficiency.

Surface micromachined optical low-cost all-air-gap filters based on stress-optimized Si3N4 layers

A new surface micromachining approach based on a multiple Si3N4- and silicon-layer stack is presented. The fabrication process is implemented by plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition of stress-optimized films, reactive ion etching using SF6/CHF3/Ar, wet chemical etching of the sacrificial silicon layers by KOH and critical point drying. Using this approach, the fabrication of an optical all-air-gap vertical-cavity Fabry–Perot filter is demonstrated. The surface micromachined filter consists of two DBR mirrors, each having five 590 nm thick Si3N4 membranes separated by 390 nm wide air gaps. The distance between the mirrors (cavity) is 710 nm. The optical characterization and a white light interferometer measurement document the accuracy of the layer positioning and the performance of this low-cost approach. The filter shows the designed filter dip at 1490 nm, the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the filter is 1.5 nm and the insertion loss is just 1.3 dB. The process is compatible with a variety of materials, e.g. III–V compounds, silicon, as well as organic materials, facilitating a huge application spectrum for sensors.

A novel low-cost tunable dielectric air-gap filter

Dense wavelength division multiplex (DWDM) systems is a promising technology for long-haul networks using the established fiber networks. Tunable devices such as optical filters, highly selective photodetectors, as well as lasers are considered to be key components for dynamic WDM systems. A novel low-cost tunable dielectric filter consisting of an air-gap cavity embedded by two DBRs is presented. A FWHM of 8 nm and a tunability of 15 nm/mA at 2 k/spl Omega/ heating resistance is obtained.

Potential of micromachined photonics: miniaturization, scaling, and applications in continuously tunable vertical air-cavity filters

In technology and nature, tailored scaling represents a principle of success which allows the effectiveness of physical effects to be enhanced. For our optical microsystems, we state that appropriate miniaturization increases the mechanical stability and the effectiveness of spectral tuning by electrostatic and thermal actuation since the relative significance of the fundamental physical forces involved considerably changes with scaling. These basic physical principles are rigorously applied in micromachined 1.55μm vertical-resonator-based filters, capable of wide, monotonic and kink-free tuning by a single control parameter. Tuning is achieved by mechanical actuation of one or several air-gaps which are part of a vertical resonator including two ultra-highly reflective DBR mirrors of strong refractive index contrast: (I) Δn=2.17 for InP/air-gap DBRs (3.5 periods) using GaInAs sacrificial layers and (II)Δn=0.5 for Si3N4/SiO2 DBR’s (12 periods) with a polymer sacrificial layer to implement the air-cavity. In semiconductor multiple air-gap filters, a continuous tuning of >9% of the absolute wavelength is obtained. Varying the reverse voltage (U=0 .. 3.2V) between the membranes (electrostatic actuation), a tuning range up to 142nm was obtained. The correlation of the wavelength and the applied voltage is accurately reproducible without any hysteresis. The extremely wide tuning range and the very small voltage required are record values to the best of our knowledge. Principles of III/V semiconductor micromachining and the detailed technological fabrication process of our filters are focused.

Novel low-cost and simple fabrication technology for tunable dielectric active and passive optical air-gap devices

A novel low cost technology for fabrication of micro-opto-electro-mechanical devices based on plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of dielectric materials is presented. Applying surface micromachining, we produce suspended dielectric membranes and cantilevers by involving a common photo resist as sacrificial layer. The intrinsic stress in the layers is adjusted using an interlacing of high (13.56MHz) and low (130kHz) plasma excitation frequencies in the PECVD. A diffraction image method and microstructures are used for the homogeneous stress evaluation. The stress of silicon nitride can be varied in a wide range between +850MPa compressive and −300MPa tensile and no dependence of the frequency on silicon dioxide intrinsic stress is noticed. Depending on lateral design and gradient stress variation, Fabry-Perot filter membranes with radius of curvature (ROC) between −1.7mm and 51mm as well as cavity lengths between 2.3μm and 13.5μm are implemented. Thus, convex, concave and plane membranes are produced. Furthermore, a thermally tuned air-gap Fabry-Perot filter with 8nm FWHM and a tunability of 15nm/mA is fabricated. Strategies of combining these filters with organic laser materials are developed. For this purpose, molecular glasses capable of amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) are chosen, e.g. the molecular glass 4-Spiro which shows an amplified spontaneous emission line at a low threshold of 3.2μJ/cm2 pump laser power density.

Continuously tunable air gap micro-cavity devices for optical communication systems

We present ultra-widely tunable micro-cavity devices realized by micro-opto-electro-mechanical system (MOEMS) technology. We modeled, fabricated and characterized 1.55μm micromachined optical filter and VCSEL devices capable of wide, monotonic and kink-free tuning by a single control parameter. Our vertical cavity devices comprise single or multiple horizontal air-gaps in the dielectric and InP-based material system. Distributed Bragg mirrors with multiple air-gaps are implemented. Due to the high refractive index contrast between air (n=1) and InP (n=3.17) only 3 periods are sufficient to guarantee a reflectivity exceeding 99.8% and offer an enormous stop-band width exceeding 500nm. Unlike InGaAsP/InP or dielectric mirrors they ensure short penetration depth of the optical intensity field in the mirrors and low absorption values. Stress control of the suspended membrane layers is of outmost importance for the fabrication of MOEMS devices. By controlling the stress we are able to fabricate InP membranes which are extremely thin (357nm thickness) and at the same time flat (radius of curvature above 5mm). Micromechanical single parametric actuation is achieved by both, thermal and electrostatic actuation. Filter devices with a record tuning over 127nm with 7.3V are presented.

Tunable and wavelength selective PIN diodes

Wavelength Division Multiplexing has become the leading technology for optical transmission systems which operate at 1550 nm. One of the key components of such systems are tunable and wavelength selective receivers. In this paper we present a fibre-coupled two-chip receiver front end, which is highly wavelength selective and tunable over a wide wavelength range. The device is a bulk-micromachined Fabry-Perot pin-photodiode, which features a high finesse of more than 220 with a sufficient tuning range (> 40 nm) to cover wide wavelength region. The bandwidth (full-width half maximum) of the device is < 0.2 nm (25 GHz). The photocurrent crosstalk from an adjacent channel (100 GHz spaced apart) is below -30 dB. The wavelength tuning is achieved by a change in the resonator length, formed by the two chips. This is realized by current induced thermal heating on top of the membrane mirror suspensions, which deflects the membrane. The optical-electrical conversion takes place in the pin-photodiode. This integration reduces the need for any additional components. Fiber-coupling is achieved with a fiber-coupled lens that tailors the Gaussian beam to match with the Fabry-Perot cavity. The alignment process of the two-chip structure, forming the wavelength selective cavity, has been simplified to the point where a simple place-and-fix strategy can be applied.