AVS 45th International Symposium
    Plasma Science and Technology Division Monday Sessions
       Session PS-MoP

Paper PS-MoP14
Low-Temperature Helicon Assisted Reactive Evaporation of Sn-doped and Ge-doped Silica Films for Planar Waveguide Photonics

Monday, November 2, 1998, 5:30 pm, Room Hall A

Session: Plasma Science and Technology Poster Session
Presenter: K.W. Gaff, The Australian National University
Authors: K.W. Gaff, The Australian National University
A. Durandet, The Australian National University
R.W. Boswell, The Australian National University
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Photosensitive silica films are a key technology in the development of silica based integrated optic devices. While the photosensitivity of silica glass doped with a variety of elements has been investigated for fibres, the development of photosensitive films for planar waveguides is still nascent. Previous research has concentrated on germanium doped silica films, often hydrogenated, and fabricated primarily by flame hydrolysis or PECVD, although ion-implantation techniques are also being researched. Fibre preform fabrication and flame hydrolysis silica film deposition normally involve temperatures around 1000°C, while temperatures during PECVD fabrication of silica films are typically 300-400°C. In the present work, we employ a unique process - helicon assisted reactive evaporation (HARE) - which combines three-crucible, electron-beam evaporation with a helicon source to generate a high density reactive plasma for thin oxide film deposition. The process enables deposition of hydrogen free, multi-component doped silica films at relatively low temperatures, typically between 100-150°C. Using this process, we were able to deposit tin-doped silica films. We compare the optical properties of the tin-doped films with those of germanium-doped films deposited using the same process and with germanium-doped films fabricated by the higher temperature processes.