Three-dimensional control of optical waveguide fabrication in silicon

In this paper, we report a direct-write technique for three-dimensional control of waveguide fabrication in silicon. Here, a focused beam of 250 keV protons is used to selectively slow down the rate of porous silicon formation during subsequent anodization, producing a silicon core surrounded by porous silicon cladding. The etch rate is found to depend on the irradiated dose, increasing the size of the core from 2.5 mu m to 3.5 mu m in width, and from 1.5 mu m to 2.6 mu m in height by increasing the dose by an order of magnitude. This ability to accurately control the waveguide profile with the ion dose at high spatial resolution provides a means of producing three-dimensional silicon waveguide tapers. Propagation losses of 6.7 dB/cm for TE and 6.8 dB/cm for TM polarization were measured in linear waveguides at the wavelength of 1550 nm. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America.