Meindert Dijkstra

Monolithic integration of erbium-doped amplifiers with silicon-on-insulator waveguides.

Monolithic integration of Al2O3:Er3+ amplifier technology with passive silicon-on-insulator waveguides is demonstrated. A signal enhancement of >7 dB at 1533 nm wavelength is obtained. The straightforward wafer-scale fabrication process, which includes reactive co-sputtering and subsequent reactive ion etching, allows for parallel integration of multiple amplifier and laser sections with silicon or other photonic circuits on a chip.

Erbium-doped spiral amplifiers with 20 dB of net gain on silicon

Spiral-waveguide amplifiers in erbium-doped aluminum oxide on a silicon wafer are fabricated and characterized. Spirals of several lengths and four different erbium concentrations are studied experimentally and theoretically. A maximum internal net gain of 20 dB in the small-signal-gain regime is measured at the peak emission wavelength of 1532 nm for two sample configurations with waveguide lengths of 12.9 cm and 24.4 cm and concentrations of 1.92 × 10(20) cm(-3) and 0.95 × 10(20) cm(-3), respectively. The noise figures of these samples are reported. Gain saturation as a result of increasing signal power and the temperature dependence of gain are studied.

Micromechanically tuned ring resonator in silicon on insulator

Monolithic integration of a micromechanical cantilever with an optical ring resonator in silicon on insulator is demonstrated. The ring is tuned over a 120 pm wavelength range by applying 9 V, without affecting its Q-factor.

Waveguide-coupled micro-ball lens array suitable for mass fabrication.

We demonstrate a fabrication procedure for the direct integration of micro-ball lenses on planar integrated optical channel waveguide chips with the aim to reduce the divergence of light that arises from the waveguide in both horizontal and vertical directions. Fabrication of the lenses is based on photoresist reflow which is a procedure that allows for the use of photolithography for careful alignment of the lenses with respect to the waveguides and enables mass production. We present in detail the design and fabrication procedures. Optical characterization of the fabricated micro-ball lenses demonstrates a good performance in terms of beam-size reduction and beam shape. The beam half divergence angle of 1544 nm light is reduced from 12.4 ° to 1.85 °.

Integrated mechano-optical hydrogen gas sensor using cantilever bending readout with a Si3N4 grated waveguide.

We demonstrate a proof of concept of a novel and compact integrated mechano-optical sensor for H(2) detection based on a microcantilever suspended above a Si(3)N(4) grated waveguide. The fabricated devices are mechanically and optically modeled and characterized. Sensing operation of the sensor is demonstrated with 1% H(2) in N(2). The error in detection of the cantilever bending induced by absorption of H(2) is estimated to be approximately 10 nm. Significantly improved sensitivity (down to ∼33 pm) is expected for reduced initial bending of the microcantilever. The simulation and experimental results are in good agreement and provide a good guideline for further optimization of the sensor.

Micro-cantilever integrated 2D photonic crystal slab waveguide for enhanced dispersion tuning

This paper presents the fabrication technology for a novel class of photonic devices which integrates silicon 2D photonic crystal (PhC) waveguides and electrostatically actuated microelectromechanical systems. Bimorph cantilevers equipped with tips that are self-aligned relative to the holes of the PhC modulate the propagation properties of the slab PhC depending on the proximity of the tips to the holes. The integrated devices have been successfully fabricated by surface micromachining techniques. Preliminary experiments with these devices have shown 80% throughput modulation using a square-wave drive signal of 0–8 V at 1 kHz.

Low-Loss Highly Tolerant Flip-Chip Couplers for Hybrid Integration of Si 3 N 4 and Polymer Waveguides

In this letter, low-loss and highly fabrication-tolerant flip-chip bonded vertical couplers under single-mode condition are demonstrated for the integration of a polymer waveguide chip onto the Si₃N₄/SiO₂ passive platform. The passively aligned vertical couplers have a lateral misalignment between polymer and Si₃N₄ waveguide cores of ±1.25 μm. Low-loss operation has been experimentally demonstrated over a wide spectral window of 1480-1560 nm, with measured coupler losses below 0.8 dB for Si₃N₄ taper angles below 1.2°, in good agreement with the calculated values. Furthermore, thermal shock test results show less than 0.1 dB degradation, indicating a robust coupling performance.

Low-loss sharp bends in low contrast polymer hybrid metallic waveguides

Surface plasmons polaritons have drawn significant attention in recent years not only thanks to their capability of confining the field in the dielectric/metal interface, but also thanks to their potential to produce highly efficient thermooptical or electro-optical devices such as modulators and switches due to the presence of the metal layer amidst the electromagnetic field. However, the high confinement comes at the cost of high propagation losses due to the metal’s highly absorptive nature at visible and near-IR wavelengths. In order for plasmonic devices to find a widespread use in integrated optics, an advantage over dielectric waveguides needs to be found that justifies their utilization. In this work, we present an application in which metallic waveguides perform better than their dielectric counterparts. By adding a thin metallic layer underneath the waveguide core, the total bend losses (dB/90° are reduced with respect to the bend losses of the equivalent dielectric structure without the metallic layer for a range of radii from 35 µm down to 1 µm. The results show a dramatic reduction of total bend losses in TE-polarization with values as low as 0.02 dB/90° bend for radii between 6 and 13 µm. The mechanism for the reduction of bend losses is the shielding action of the metal layer, which prevents the field to leak into the substrate. In this paper, both detailed theoretical calculations as well as experimental results for SU-8 channel waveguides will be presented.

Temperature dependence of the spectral characteristics of distributed-feedback resonators

We characterize the spectral response of a distributed-feedback resonator when subject to a thermal chirp. An Al2O3 rib waveguide with a corrugated surface Bragg grating inscribed into its SiO2 top cladding is experimentally investigated. We induce a near-to-linear temperature gradient along the resonator, leading to a similar variation of the grating period, and characterize its spectral response in terms of wavelength and linewidth of the resonance peak. Simulations are carried out, showing good agreement with the experimental results and indicating that the wavelength of the resonance peak is a result only of the total accumulated phase shift. For any chirp profile we are able to calculate the reflectivities at the resonance wavelength, and this information largely explains how the linewidth of the resonance changes. This result shows that the increase in linewidth is governed by the increase of the resonator outcoupling losses.

Design and fabrication of adiabatic vertical couplers for hybrid integration by flip-chip bonding

Rare-earth ion doped crystalline potassium double tungstates, such as KY(WO4)2, KLu(WO4)2 and KY(WO4)2, exhibit many properties that make them promising candidates for the realization of lasers and amplifiers in integrated photonics. One of the key challenges for the hybrid integration of different photonic platforms remains the design and fabrication of low-loss and fabrication tolerant couplers for transferring light between different waveguides. In this paper, adiabatic vertical couplers realized by flip-chip bonding of polymer waveguides to Si3N4 devices are designed, fabricated and tested. An efficient design flow combining 2D and 3D simulations was proposed and its validity was demonstrated. The vertical couplers will ultimately be used for the integration of erbium doped KY(WO4)2 waveguides with passive platforms. The designed couplers exhibit less than 0.5 dB losses at adiabatic angles and below 1 dB loss for ±0.5 μm lateral misalignment. The fabricated vertical couplers show less than 1dB losses in average for different adiabatic angles of Si3N4 tapers, which is in good quantitative agreement with the simulations.