AVS 47th International Symposium
    Photonics Tuesday Sessions
       Session PH-TuP

Paper PH-TuP9
Plasma Etching Research in Integrated Photonics

Tuesday, October 3, 2000, 5:30 pm, Room Exhibit Hall C & D

Session: Poster Session
Presenter: K.H.A. Bogart, Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies
Authors: K.H.A. Bogart, Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies
M.A. Cappuzzo, Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies
L.T. Gomez, Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies
J.F. Bailey, Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies
R.W. Long, Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies
Correspondent: Click to Email
The skyrocketing consumer demand for greater Internet access, telecommunications, and other broadband services has accelerated the need for advanced lightwave transmission capacity such as wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). WDM transport is evolving into dynamic WDM systems requiring several optical components including sources, waveguide grating routers, reconfigurable add/drops, optical amplifiers, and optical cross connects. Integration of these components is vital for decreasing fiber insertion losses and for low cost manufacturing and packaging. Silicon optical bench (SiOB) technology leverages off the mature silicon integrated circuit (IC) industry by utilizing photolithography, thin film deposition and etching techniques to create complex planar optical devices on the silicon platform. In contrast to IC's, SiOB devices are several micrometers to centimeters in length and use optical quality materials, thus producing diverse challenges in materials processing. Plasma etching of planar waveguide devices such as waveguide routers, amplifiers, optical compensators, and switches will be examined with a focus on newer high-delta optical materials such as Ge- or Ti-doped silica (delta = refractive index difference between the waveguide core and the surrounding cladding), aluminosilicates, and ferroelectric materials. Comparisons of photoresist and hardmask materials such as poly-silicon and aluminum oxide will be made. Potential solutions to integration issues with the high-delta materials will also be presented.