Thèses sur le sujet « Integrated photonic structures »

An approach to integrated frequency-comb filtering is presented, building from a background in photonic crystal cavity design and fabrication. Previous work in the development of quantum information processing devices through integrated photonic crystals consists of photonic band gap engineering and methods of on-chip photon transfer. This work leads directly to research into coupled-resonator optical waveguides which stands as a basis for the primary line of investigation. These coupled cavity systems offer the designer slow light propagation which increases photon lifetime, reduces size limitations toward on-chip integration, and offers enhanced light-matter interaction. A unique resonant structure explained by various numerical models enables comb-like resonant clusters in systems that otherwise have no such regular resonant landscape (e.g. photonic crystal cavities). Through design, simulation, fabrication and test, the work presented here is a thorough validation for the future potential of coupled-resonator filters in frequency comb laser sources.
Ph.D.
Doctorate
Optics and Photonics
Optics and Photonics
Optics

Microelectronics has enjoyed great success in the past century. As the technology node progresses, the complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor scaling has already reached a wall, and serious challenges in high-bandwidth interconnects and fast-speed signal processing arise. The incorporation of photonics to microelectronics provides potential solutions. The theme of this thesis is focused on the novel applications of travelling-wave microresonators such as microdisks and microrings for the on-chip optical interconnects and signal processing. Challenges arising from these applications including theoretical and experimental ones are addressed. On the theoretical aspect, a modified version of coupled mode theory is offered for the TM-polarization in high index contrast material systems. Through numerical comparisons, it is shown that our modified coupled mode theory is more accurate than all the existing ones. The coupling-induced phase responses are also studied, which is of critical importance to coupled-resonator structures. Different coupling structures are studied by a customized numerical code, revealing that the phase response of symmetric couplers with the symmetry about the wave propagating direction can be simply estimated while the one of asymmetric couplers is more complicated. Mode splitting and scattering loss, which are two important features commonly observed in the spectrum of high-Q microresonators, are also investigated. Our review of the existing analytical approaches shows that they have only achieved partial success. Especially, different models have been proposed for several distinct regimes and cannot be reconciled. In this thesis, a unified approach is developed for the general case to achieve a complete understanding of these two effects. On the experimental aspect, we first develop a new fabrication recipe with a focus on the accurate dimensional control and low-loss performance. HSQ is employed as the electron-beam resist, and the lithography and plasma etching steps are both optimized to achieve vertical and smooth sidewalls. A third-order temperature-insensitive coupled-resonator filter is designed and demonstrated in the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform, which serves as a critical building block element in terabit/s on-chip networks. Two design challenges, i.e., a broadband flat-band response and a temperature-insensitive design, are coherently addressed by employing the redundant bandwidth of the filter channel caused by the dispersion as thermal guard band. As a result, the filter can accommodate 21 WDM channels with a data rate up to 100 gigabit/s per wavelength channel, while providing a sufficient thermal guard band to tolerate more than ±15°C temperature fluctuations in the on-chip environment. In this thesis, high-Q microdisk resonators are also proposed to be used as low-loss delay lines for narrowband filters. Pulley coupling scheme is used to selectively couple to one of the radial modes of the microdisk and also to achieve a strong coupling. A first-order tunable narrowband filter based on the microdisk-based delay line is experimentally demonstrated in an SOI platform, which shows a tunable bandwidth from 4.1 GHz to 0.47 GHz with an overall size of 0.05 mm². Finally, to address the challenges for the resonator-based delay lines encountered in the SOI platform, we propose to vertically integrate silicon nitride to the SOI platform, which can potentially have significantly lower propagation loss and higher power handling capability. High-Q silicon nitride microresonators are demonstrated; especially, microresonators with a 16 million intrinsic Q and a moderate size of 240 µm radius are realized, which is one order of magnitude improvement compared to what can be achieved in the SOI platform using the same fabrication technology. We have also successfully grown silicon nitride on top of SOI and a good coupling has been achieved between the silicon nitride and the silicon layers.

In order to harness the enormous potential of schemes in optical quantum information processing, readily scalable photonic circuits will be required. A major obstacle for this scalability is the monolithic integration of quantum light sources with the photonic circuit on a single chip. This dissertation presents the experimental demonstration of different in-plane single photon sources that allow for this integration with planar light circuits. To this end, the spontaneous recombination of excitons in single indium arsenide quantum dots was exploited to generate single photons. The emission into on-chip waveguides was achieved by the use of advanced two-dimensional photonic crystal structures. First, slow-light effects in a unidirectional photonic crystal waveguide were exploited to achieve on-demand single photon emission with a rate of up to 18.7 MHz, corresponding to a remarkable estimated internal device efficiency of up to 47%. Waveguide-coupled L3 defect cavities with record Q-factors of up to 5150 were then studied for improved Purcell enhancement of the emission, and in-plane single photon generation from such a device was demonstrated. Finally, an electrically tunable, integrable quantum light source with a total tuning range of 1.9 nm was demonstrated by exploiting the quantum-confined Stark effect in an electrical PIN diode. These results are the first demonstrations of in-plane single photon emission at optical wavelengths and mark an important cornerstone for the realisation of fully integrated quantum photonic circuits in optical quantum information science.

The objective of this work is to develop essential building blocks for the lab-on-a-chip optical sensing systems with high performance. In this study, the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform is chosen because of its compatibility with the mature microelectronics industry for the great potential in terms of powerful data processing and massive production. Despite the impressing progress in optical sensors based on the silicon photonic technologies, two constant challenges are larger sensitivity and better selectivity. To address the first issue, we incorporate porous materials to the silicon photonics platform. Two porous materials are investigated: porous silicon and porous titania. The demonstrated travelling-wave resonators with the magnesiothermically reacted porous silicon cladding have shown significant enhancement in the sensitivity. The process is then further optimized by replacing the thermal oxide with a flowable oxide for the magnesiothermic reduction. A different approach of making porous silicon using porous anodized alumina membrane leads to better flexibility in controlling the pore size and porosity. Porous titania is successfully integrated with silicon nitride resonators. To improve the selectivity, an array of integrated optical sensors are coated with different polymers, such that each incoming gas analyte has its own signature in the collective response matrix. A multiplexed gas sensor with four polymers has been demonstrated. It also includes on chip references compensating for the adverse environmental effects. On chip spectral analysis is also very critical for lab-on-a-chip sensing systems. For that matter, based on an array of microdonut resonators, we demonstrate an 81 channel microspectrometer. The demonstrated spectrometer leads to a high spectral resolution of 0.6 nm, and a large operating bandwidth of ~ 50 nm.

This thesis explored fundamental concepts of linear optics focusing on the modal interaction within waveguide/microresonator systems. In addition, it investigated a nonlinear process of stimulated degenerate four-wave mixing in a channel waveguide exploiting the analogy between photons and cold boson atoms. The backscattering phenomenon due to the surface wall roughness of a microresonator is addressed by adding to the usual conservative (Hermitian) coupling coefficient, a dissipative (non-Hermitian) term. This allows explaining the experimental measurements of a multimodal microresonator, which exhibits an asymmetrical resonance splitting characterized by a difference in the peak depths of the transmission spectra. It is shown theoretically, numerically and experimentally that the stochastic nature of the roughness along with the inter-modal dissipative coupling could give rise to a different exchange of energy between the co-propagating and the counter-propagating mode. The unbalanced exchange of energy between the two modes with opposite angular momenta can generate a different reflection by swapping the injection of the light between the input and the output ports. This effect lies at the heart of the realization of an unidirectional reflection device and it finds an explanation in the physics of the exceptional points. The realization of an optical setup based on a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, which exploits some particular techniques of data acquisition, allows obtaining a full knowledge of the complex electric field of a propagating mode. In this way, the spectrum of a wedge microresonator vertically coupled to a bus waveguide is explained using analysis methods based on parametric phasors and inverse complex representations. In addition, the energy exchange between the co-propagating and counter-propagating modes is studied from a temporal point of view by extrapolating a simple model based on the Green function. In particular, it is discussed the analytical temporal response of a microring resonator excited through a bus waveguide by an optical rectangular pulse. Here, it is shown theoretically and experimentally, how the temporal response leads to the characterization of the coupling regime simply from the knowledge of the electric field intensity. In this thesis, the isomorphism between the Schroedinger’s equation and the Helmholtz wave equation is analyzed in the nonlinear case. Considering a bulk nonlinear medium of the Kerr type, the complex amplitude of the optical field is a slowly varying function of space and time, which satisfies a nonlinear Schroedinger equation. The well-known nonlinear optical phenomenon of stimulated degenerate four wave mixing is reformulated in the language of the Bogoliubov theory. This parallelism between photons and cold atoms allows showing that the phase of the signal assumes a peculiar sound-like dispersion under proper assumptions.

The necessity of using extremely high sensitivity biosensors in certain research areas has remarkably increased during the last two decades. Optical structures, where light is used to transduce biochemical interactions into optical signals, are a very interesting approach for the development of this type of biosensors. Within optical sensors, photonic integrated architectures are probably the most promising platform to develop novel lab-on-a-chip devices. Such planar structures exhibit an extremely high sensitivity, a significantly reduced footprint and a high multiplexing potential for sensing applications. Furthermore, their compatibility with CMOS processes and materials, such as silicon, opens the route to mass production, thus reducing drastically the cost of the final devices. Optical sensors achieve their specificity and label-free operation by means of a proper chemical functionalization of their surfaces. The selective attachment of the receptors allows the detection of the target analytes within a complex matrix. This PhD Thesis is focused on the development of label-free photonic integrated sensors in which the detection is based on the interaction of the target analytes with the evanescent field that travels along the structures. Herein, we studied several photonic structures for sensing purposes, such as photonic crystals and ring resonators. Photonic crystals, where their periodicity provokes the appearance of multiple back and forth reflections, exhibits the so-called slow-light phenomenon that allows an increase of the interaction between the light and the target matter. On the other hand, the circulating nature of the resonant modes in a ring resonator offers a multiple interaction with the matter near the structure, providing a longer effective length. We have also proposed a novel approach for the interrogation of photonic bandgap sensing structures where simply the output power needs to measured, contrary to current approaches based on the spectral interrogation of the photonic structures. This novel technique consists on measuring the overlap between a broadband source and the band edge from a SOI-based corrugated waveguide, so that we can determine indirectly its spectral position in real-time. Since there is no need to employ tunable equipment, we obtain a lighter, simpler and a cost-effective platform, as well as a real-time observation of the molecular interactions. The experimental demonstration with antibody detection measurements has shown the potential of this technique for sensing purposes
García Castelló, J. (2014). A Novel Approach to Label-Free Biosensors Based on Photonic Bandgap Structures [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/35398
TESIS

V současnosti jsme svědky stále zvyšujících se nároku na rychlost přenosu a zpracování signálu a kapacitu pamet’ových zařízení. Proto se pozornost výzkumných pracovníku zaměřuje k plně optickým zařízením, která by mohla splnit zmíněné požadavky. Jednou z intenzívně zkoumaných možností je využití mikroprstencových optických rezonátoru. Při výzkumu je nutné využít numerických metod, které simulují šíření optického záření v dané struktuře. K tomuto účelu existuje celá rada metod, které se liší v efektivitě výpočtu, použitých aproximacích, i možnostech použití. Cílem této práce bylo vyvinout dvě jednoduché a praktické numerické metody pro modelování šíření pulzního záření v nelineárních vlnovodných strukturách. Přítom bylo požadováno, aby, na rozdíl od obecně známé a často využívané metody konečných diferencí v časové oblasti (FD-TD), bylo možné metody snadno aplikovat při studiu nelineárních struktur založených na mikroprstencových rezonátorech. Proto vyvinuté metody používají některé aproximace, zejména aproximaci pomalu proměnné obálky. Výhodou metod je vysoká rychlost a skromné požadavky na výpočetní zdroje. Obě metody vycházejí ze zkutečnosti, že naprostá většina nelineárních struktur založených na mikroprstencových rezonátorech se skládá ze dvou základních prvku: obyčejných vlnovodu a vlnovodných vazebních clenu. První metoda řeší vázané parciální diferenciální rovnice, které popisují šíření obálky pulzu ve struktuře. Přitom je použito tzv. „up-wind“ schéma vhodné pro parciální diferenciální rovnice popisující šíření vln. Druhá metoda vychází z první; rozdíl je v popisu vazby mezi dvěma vlnovody. Pokud se v první metodě uvažuje realistická vazba rozložená na určité délce, pak druhá metoda je založena na představě vazby nacházející se v jednom místě. Díky tomu je možné integrovat příslušné rovnice a dosáhnout výrazného urychlení výpočtu. Kvazianalytický charakter druhé metody umožňuje dále snadnou klasifikaci různých typu ustálených řešení. Vzhledem k těmto vlastnostem byla druhá metoda využita k výzkumu samovolné generace optických pulzu ve strukturách skládajících se z vázaných prstencových rezonátoru. Obě metody, které byly vyvinuty během této práce, představují rychlé a fyzikálně názorné alternativy k metodě FD-TD, a tak lze očekávat, že mohou hrát důležitou roli při výzkumu nelineárních vlnovodných struktur.

Photonic crystals (PhCs) are periodic dielectric structures that exhibit a photonic band gap; a range of wavelengths for which light propagation is forbidden. 2D PhCs exhibit most of the properties as their three dimension counterparts with a compatibility with standard semiconductor processing techniques such as epitaxial growth, electron beam lithography, Plasma deposition/etching and electromechanical lapping/polishing. Indium Phosphide (InP) is the material of choice for photonic devices especially when it comes to realization of coherent light source at 1.55 μm wavelength. Precise engineering of the nanostructures in the PhC lattice offers novel ways to confine, guide and control light in phonic integrated circuits (PICs). Strong confinement of light in PhCs offer novel opportunities in many areas of physics and engineering. Dry etching, a necessary process step in PhC device manufacturing, is known to introduce damage in the etched material. Process induced damage and its impact on the electrical and optical properties of PhCs depends on the etched material, the etching technique and process parameters. We have demonstrated a novel post-etch process based on so-called mass-transport (MT) technology for the first time on InP-based PhCs that has significantly improved side-wall verticality of etched PhC holes. A statistical analysis performed on several devices fabricated by MT process technology shows a great deal of improvement in the reliability of optical transmission characteristics which is very promising for achieving high optical quality in PhC components. Several PhC devices were manufactured using MT technology. Broad enough PhC waveguides that operate in the mono/multi-mode regime are interesting for coarse wavelength de-multiplexing. The fundamental mode and higher order mode interaction creates mini-stop band (MSB) in the dispersion diagram where the higher order mode has a lower group velocity which can be considered as slow light regime. In this thesis work, the phenomena of MSBs and its impact on transmission properties have been evaluated. We have proposed and demonstrated a method that enables spectral tuning with sub-nanometer accuracy which is based on the transmission MSB. Along the same lines most of the thesis work relates to broad enough PhC guides that operated in the multimode regime. Temperature tuning experiments on these waveguides reveals a clear red-shift with a gradient of dλ/dT=0.1 nm/˚C. MSBs in these waveguides have been studied by varying the width in incremental amounts. Analogous to semiconductors heterostructures, photonic heterostructures are composed of two photonic crystals with different band-gaps obtained either by changing the air-fill factor or by the lattice constant. Juxtaposing two PhC and the use of heterostructures in waveguide geometry has been experimentally investigated in this thesis work. In particular, in multimode line defect waveguides the “internal” MSB effect brings a new dimension in single junction-type photonic crystal waveguide (JPCW) and heterostructure W3 (HW3) for fundamental physics and applications. We have also fabricated an ultra-compact polarization beam splitter (PBS) realized by combining a multimode waveguide with internal PhC. MSBs in heterostructure waveguides have shown interesting applications such as designable band-pass flat-top filters, and resonance-like filters with high transmission. In the course of this work, InGaAsP suspended membrane technology was developed. An H2 cavity with a linewidth of ~0.4 nm, corresponding to a Q value of ~3675 has been shown. InGaAsP PhC membrane is an ideal platform to study coupled quantum well/dot-nanocavity system.

QC 20120831

Tesis por compendio
[ES] La fotónica de silicio es una tecnología emergente clave en redes de comunicación e interconexiones de centros de datos de nueva generación, entre otros. Su éxito se basa en la utilización de plataformas compatibles con la tecnología CMOS para la integración de circuitos ópticos en dispositivos pequeños para una producción a gran escala a bajo coste. Dentro de este campo, los interferómetros integrados juegan un papel crucial en el desarrollo de diversas aplicaciones fotónicas en un chip como sensores biológicos, moduladores electro-ópticos, conmutadores totalmente ópticos, circuitos programables o sistemas LiDAR, entre otros. Sin embargo, es bien sabido que la interferometría óptica suele requerir caminos de interacción muy largos, lo que dificulta su integración en espacios muy compactos. Para mitigar algunas de estas limitaciones de tamaño, surgieron varios enfoques, incluyendo materiales sofisticados o estructuras más complejas, que, en principio, redujeron el área de diseño pero a expensas de aumentar los pasos del proceso de fabricación y el coste. Esta tesis tiene como objetivo proporcionar soluciones generales al problema de tamaño típico de los interferómetros ópticos integrados, con el fin de permitir la integración densa de dispositivos basados en silicio. Para ello, aunamos los beneficios tanto de las guías de onda bimodales como de las estructuras periódicas, en términos de la mejora del rendimiento y la posibilidad para diseñar interferómetros monocanal en áreas muy reducidas. Más específicamente, investigamos los efectos dispersivos que aparecen en estructuras menores a la longitud de onda y en las de cristal fotónico, para su implementación en diferentes configuraciones interferométricas bimodales. Además, demostramos varias aplicaciones potenciales como sensores, moduladores y conmutadores en tamaños ultra compactos de unas pocas micras cuadradas. En general, esta tesis propone un nuevo concepto de interferómetro integrado que aborda los requisitos de tamaño de la fotónica actual y abre nuevas vías para futuros dispositivos basados en funcionamiento bimodal.
[CA] La fotònica de silici és una tecnologia emergent clau en xarxes de comunicació i interconnexions de centres de dades de nova generació, entre altres. El seu èxit es basa en la utilització de plataformes compatibles amb la tecnologia CMOS per a la integració de circuits òptics en dispositius diminuts per a una producció a gran escala a baix cost. Dins d'aquest camp, els interferòmetres integrats juguen un paper crucial en el desenvolupament de diverses aplicacions fotòniques en un xip com a sensors biològics, moduladors electro-òptics, commutadors totalment òptics, circuits programables o sistemes LiDAR, entre altres. No obstant això, és ben sabut que la interferometría òptica sol requerir camins d'interacció molt llargs, la qual cosa dificulta la seua integració en espais molt compactes. Per a mitigar algunes d'aquestes limitacions de grandària, van sorgir diversos enfocaments, incloent materials sofisticats o estructures més complexes, que, en principi, van reduir l'àrea de disseny però a costa d'augmentar els processos de fabricació i el cost. Aquesta tesi té com a objectiu proporcionar solucions generals al problema de grandària típica dels interferòmetres òptics integrats, amb la finalitat de permetre la integració densa de dispositius basats en silici. Per a això, combinem els beneficis tant de les guies d'ones bimodals com de les estructures periòdiques, en termes de funcionament d'alt rendiment per a dissenyar interferòmetres monocanal compactes en àrees molt reduïdes. Més específicament, investiguem els efectes dispersius que apareixen en estructures menors a la longitud d'ona i en les de cristall fotònic, per a la seua implementació en diferents configuracions interferomètriques bimodals. A més, vam demostrar diverses aplicacions potencials com a sensors, moduladors i commutadors en grandàries ultres compactes d'unes poques micres cuadrades. En general, aquesta tesi proposa un nou concepte d'interferòmetre integrat que aborda els requisits de grandària de la fotònica actual i obri noves vies per a futurs dispositius basats en funcionament bimodal.
[EN] Silicon photonics is a key emerging technology in next-generation communication networks and data centers interconnects, among others. Its success relies on the ability of using CMOS-compatible platforms for the integration of optical circuits into small devices for a large-scale production at low-cost. Within this field, integrated interferometers play a crucial role in the development of several on-chip photonic applications such as biological sensors, electro-optic modulators, all-optical switches, programmable circuits or LiDAR systems, among others. However, it is well known that optical interferometry usually requires very long interaction paths, which hinders its integration in highly compact footprints. To mitigate some of these size limitations, several approaches emerged including sophisticated materials or more complex structures, which, in principle, reduced the design area but at the expense of increasing fabrication process steps and cost. This thesis aims at providing general solutions to the long-standing size problem typical of optical integrated interferometers, in order to enable the densely integration of silicon-based devices. To this end, we combine the benefits from both bimodal waveguides and periodic structures, in terms of high-performance operation and compactness to design single-channel interferometers in very reduced areas. More specifically, we investigate the dispersive effects that arise from subwavelength grating and photonic crystal structures for their implementation in different bimodal interferometric configurations. Furthermore, we demonstrate various potential applications such as sensors, modulators and switches in ultra-compact footprints of a few square microns. In general, this thesis proposes a new concept of integrated interferometer that addresses the size requirements of current photonics and open up new avenues for future bimodal-operation-based devices.
Financial support is also gratefully acknowledged through postdoctoral FPI grants from Universitat Politècnica de València (PAID-01-18). European Commission through the Horizon 2020 Programme (PHC-634013 PHOCNOSIS project). The authors acknowledge funding from the Generalitat Valenciana through the AVANTI/2019/123, ACIF/2019/009 and PPC/2020/037 grants and from the European Union through the operational program of the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) of the Valencia Regional Government 2014–2020.
Torrijos Morán, L. (2021). Photonic Applications Based on Bimodal Interferometry in Periodic Integrated Waveguides [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/172163
TESIS
Compendio

Cette thèse porte sur la numérisation de signaux hyperfréquences en utilisant une horloge optique, possédant une gigue temporelle très faible en comparaison des horloges électroniques. Une faible gigue est un facteur clé de l’échantillonnage à haute performance, car l’horloge commande l’ouverture d’une “porte” qui extrait les échantillons du signal à intervalles réguliers. Cette thèse décrit deux approches originales : l’échantillonnage purement optique et l’échantillonnage électro-optique.Une porte électro-optique se constitue d’une ligne coplanaire transportant le signal électrique. Cette ligne présente une discontinuité qui devient conductrice sur commande optique grâce à un matériau photoconducteur. Les alliages semi-conducteurs du groupe III-V sont souvent utilisés car la mobilité de ces porteurs photo-générés est suffisamment élevée, ce qui est favorable à une bonne conductivité à l’état “on”. Le GaAs, en particulier, présente l’avantage d’une conductivité faible à l’état “off” du fait de la largeur de la bande interdite électronique. Cela explique l’intérêt de ce matériau, cependant, cela impose aussi une contrainte sur la longueur d’onde de la source laser, expliquant l’utilisation de sources autour 800 nm.Dans cette thèse l’utilisation de sources laser à verrouillage de modes à fibre, développées dans le domaine des Télécoms, donc plus facilement accessibles, tout en gardant le GaAs comme matériaux actif est explorée. Cela est possible en exaltant l’efficacité de l’absorption à deux photons, effet faible dans la plupart des structures. L’approche suivie porte sur l’utilisation d’une cavité à cristaux photoniques. Le très fort confinement et le très faible volume occupé par le mode optique se traduit en une très forte absorption non linéaire. De plus, la nano-structuration du semi-conducteur réduit de manière considérable le temps de vie des porteurs, ce qui permet un retour suffisamment rapide à l’état “off”. L’étude se conclut par la démonstration de la fonction d’échantillonnage.La même fonction a été étudiée dans le cas ou le signal hyperfréquence se trouve sur une porteuse optique. La fonction porte “tout optique” est réalisée par un résonateur à cristaux photoniques. La génération de porteurs par absorption à deux photons induit un déplacement spectral de la résonance, ce qui est exploité pour moduler la transmission du dispositif. Une porte optique rapide, capable en principe de traiter des signaux dépassant les 50 GHz à été montrée. Cette porte requiert une puissance de commande de l’ordre de 200 fJ/impulsion, ce qui est suffisamment faible pour utiliser des sources lasers compactes (diode laser) et, de ce fait, outre sa très faible taille, peut être intégrée facilement
This thesis is focused on the digitalization of radio-frequency signal using optical clock, allowing a low time jitter compared to electronic clocks. A low jitter is a key factor for high performance sampling, as the clock commands the “gate” opening which extracts the signal samples at regular intervals. This thesis describes two original approaches: all-optical sampling and electro-optics one.An electro-optic gate is based on radio-frequency transmission strip-line carrying the electric signal. A discontinuity in this strip-line occurs which become conductive, thanks to the optical command provided by the clock, due to a photo-conductive material. Semiconductor alloys from the III-V groups are widely used thanks to the high mobility of the photo-generated carriers allowing a high “on” state. In particular, GaAs present a good “off” state due to its band-gap energy. However, this restrains the optical clock wavelength explaining the use of optical sources around 800 nm.In this thesis, the focus was made on using mode-locked lasers in the Telecom range, thus using the improvement made on these sources during the past decades, while keeping GaAs as the active material in the electro-optic sampler. This is made possible by exalting the efficiency of two-photon absorption, which is usually weak in common structures. The approach followed here is to use a photonic crystal cavity. Thanks to its high optical mode confinement, non-linear absorption becomes efficient enough to generated carriers to modify the resistivity of the material. In addition, the nano-structuration of the material reduce tremendously the carrier lifetime, owing to switch from an “on” to “off” state fast enough to sample high frequency signals.The same function has been studied in the case where the signal is not carried electrically but optically. The all-optical gate function is realized using two photonic crystal resonators coupled together. The carrier generation by two-photon absorption induces a spectral shift of the resonance, used to modulate the transmission of the device. A fast all-optical gate, enabling signal processing up to 50 GHz is demonstrated here. The gate only requires a control power of about 200 fJ per pulses, which is low enough to use integrated optical sources (laser diodes) and, thanks to the small footprint, be easily integrated

Nanoplasmonic surfaces are known to be able to alter the localisation and propagation characteristics of light owing to the subwavelength interactions with the metallic elements. The recent improvements of nanolithography and self-assembly techniques have enabled the design of ever smaller and intricate structures with a high precision, allowing for research into more complex nanoplasmonic structures that control light on the nano-scale. Up until now, plasmonic surfaces are mostly operated with out-of-plane excitation which, although well-established and experimentally convenient to perform, has limited potential for on-chip applications. The integration of surface plasmonic structures with photonic waveguides allows for light to be confined to a guiding layer while being kept in interaction along the surface structure without inducing uncontrolled scattering or excessive dissipative loss. In this work, plasmonic surface structures such as plasmonic antennas and array structures that are integrated with a CMOS compatible platform are explored. In particular, a new class of plasmonic surfaces, plasmonic nanogap tilings, are introduced. Remarkably, these simple periodic structures provide a rich physics characterised by many different regimes of operation, including subwavelength surface enhancement, hybrid plasmonic-photonic resonances, transmission stop-bands, resonant back scattering, coupling to out-of-plane radiation and asymmetric transmission. The ability of the nanogap tiling to concentrate the field on the surface is studied in detail as it allows for sensing changes in the dielectric medium on the accessible surface or the inclusion of nonlinear or gain materials to functionalise the device in an integrated setup.

My thesis focus on the theoretical study of grating structures for integrated Silicon Photonics. The grating structures proposed are analyzed by using different computational techniques, with the aim of better understanding the Physics involved and optimizing the structures for particular applications. The targeted structures are: grating-couplers for both fiber-to-chip and chip-to-chip light coupling, and grating waveguides for slow light applications. The thesis is structured as follows: The first chapter is an introduction. It provides a brief overview of the current state of Silicon Photonics. Afterwards, a summary of the physics of light propagation in periodically patterned media is given, followed by the numercal method employed: Finite-Difference-Time-Domain (FDTD), Rigorous Coupled Wave Analysis (RCWA) and Aperiodic-Fourier Modal Method (A-FMM). Particular attention is devoted to the A-FMM method, of which I implemented a Python version as part of my PhD work. The second chapter presents a theoretical study of the problem of bandwidth in 1D SOI grating-couplers, with standard silicon thickness of 220 nm and operating a λ=1.55 μm. Through a campaign of numerical simulation, both FDTD and RWCA, the mechanism beyond the bandwidth formation are investigated. In particular, two processes behind the bandwidth formation are found. The first one is a finite size contribution, of Gaussian nature, decreasing in strength as the extension of the exciting mode increase. The second one is coming from the intrinsic width of the photonic mode inside the grating, it has a Lorentzian nature and does not depend on the excitation. In addition, a multi-objective numerical optimization of grating-couplers with various values of MFD has been performed, optimizing width and position of each groove in the grating to explore the better trade-off between Coupling Efficiency and Bandwidth. It is shown that combining suitable optimization with smaller-than-standard MFD, great increase in bandwidth can be achieved. The third chapter provides a feasibility study through FDTD simulations on the application of a grating-to-grating approach to the problem of light coupling (λ=1.55 μm) between Photonic Integrated Circuits of different platforms (SOI and InP). Due to the limited scattering-strength available in the InP platform, the most straightforward solution to decrease insertion loss is to employ longer-than-normal grating-couplers, which also requires the re-thinking of the SOI grating. By combination of a design rule for apodization and numerical optimization trough PSO algorithm, InP and Si grating-couplers of different lengths are co-designed, showing that insertion losses of around 3 dB are possible with usable bandwidth (≈ 30 nm). This study could open the way to the use of flip-chip technology for optical connection between different platforms, allowing for easy and cost-effective hybrid integration. In the forth chapter, the slow light performances of Silicon grating waveguide are theoretically analyzed. These waveduides are simply conventional SOI rib waveguide with periodically modulated width. The Silcion thickness is chosen to be 310 nm and the operational wavelength is λ=1.31 μm. It is shown that, by tuning the geometrical parameters, an almost tenfold increase in the slow-light bandwidth can be obtained with respect to structures known in literature. Moreover, taking advantage of the flexibility of the A-FMM methods, the problem of light couplitg to conventional ridge has been analyzed. Transmission spectra through finite-length deleay lines employing different tapers configurations have been calculated, showning that, in the cases of lower group-index, a simple adiabatic taper is enough to deliver high transmission, while this is not true anymore when the group index increses.

A major focus is on integrated Silicon-based optoelectronics for the creation of low-cost photonics for mass-market applications. Especially, the growing demand for sensitive and portable optical sensors in the environmental control and medicine follows in the development of integrated high resolution sensors [1]. In particular, since 2013 the quick onsite verification of pathogens, like legionella in drinking water pipes, is becoming increasingly important [2, 3]. The essential questions regarding the establishment of portable biochemical sensors are the incorporation of electronic and optical devices as well as the implementations of fundamental cross-innovations between biotechnology and microelectronics. This thesis describes the design, fabrication and analysis of high-refractive-index-contrast photonic structures. Besides silicon nitride (Si3N4) strip waveguides, lateral tapers, bended waveguides, two-dimensional photonic crystals (PhCs) the focus lies on monolithically integrated waveguide butt-coupled Silicon-based light emitting devices (Sibased LEDs) [4, 5] for use as bioanalytical sensor components. Firstly, the design and performance characteristics as single mode regime, confinement factor and propagation losses due to the geometry and operation wavelength (1550 nm, 541 nm) of single mode (SM), multi mode (MM) waveguides and bends are studied and simulated. As a result, SM operation is obtained for 1550 nm by limiting the waveguide cross-section to 0.5 μm x 1 μm resulting in modal confinement factors of 87 %. In contrast, for shorter wavelengths as 541 nm SM propagation is excluded if the core height is not further decreased. Moreover, the obtained theoretical propagation losses for the lowestorder TE/TM mode are in the range of 0.3 - 1.3 dB/cm for an interface roughness of 1 nm. The lower silicon dioxide (SiO2) waveguide cladding should be at least 1 μm to avoid substrate radiations. These results are in a good correlation to the known values for common dielectric structures. In the case of bended waveguides, an idealized device with a radius of 10 μm was developed which shows a reflection minimum (S11 = - 22 dB) at 1550 nm resulting in almost perfect transmission of the signal. Additionally, tapered waveguides were investigated for an optimized light coupling between high-aspect-ratio devices. Here, adiabatic down-tapered waveguides were designed for the elimination of higher-order modes and perfect signal transmission. Secondly, fabrication lines including Electron-beam (E-beam) lithography and reactive ion etching (RIE) with an Aluminum (Al) mask were developed and lead to well fabricated optical devices in the (sub)micrometer range. The usage of focused ion beam (FIB) milling is invented for smoother front faces which were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). As a result, the anisotropy of the RIE process was increased, but the obtained surface roughness parameters are still too high (10 – 20 nm) demonstrating a more advanced lithography technique is needed for higher quality structures. Moreover, this study presents an alternative fabrication pathway for novel designed waveguides with free-edge overlapping endfaces for improving fiber-chipcoupling. Thirdly, the main focus lies on the development of a monolithic integration circuit consisting of the Si-based LED coupled to an integrated waveguide. The light propagation between high-aspect-ratio devices is enabled through low-loss adiabatic tapers. This study shows, that the usage of CMOS-related fabrication technologies result in a monolithic manufacturing pathway for the successful implementation of fully integrated Si-based photonic circuits. Fourth, transmission loss measurements of the fabricated photonic structures as well as the waveguide butt-coupled Si-based LEDs were performed with a generated setup. As a result, free-edge overlapping MM waveguides show propagation loss coefficients of ~ 65 dB/cm in the range of the telecommunication wavelength. The high surface roughness parameters (~ 150 nm) and the modal dispersion in the core are one of the key driving factors. These facts clearly underline the improvement potential of the used fabrication processes. However, electroluminescence (EL) measurements of waveguide butt-coupled Si-based LEDs due to the implanted rare earth (RE) ion (Tb3+, Er3+) and the host material (SiO2/SiNx) were carried out. The detected transmission spectra of the coupled Tb:SiO2 systems show a weak EL signal at the main transition line of the Tb3+-ion (538 nm). A second emission line was detected in the red region of the spectrum either corresponding to a further optical transition of Tb3+ or a Non Bridging Oxygen Hole Center (NBOHC) in SiO2. Unfortunately, no light emission in the infrared range was established for the Er3+-doped photonic circuits caused by the low external quantum efficiencies (EQE) of the Er3+ implanted Si-based LEDs. Nevertheless, transmission measurements between 450 nm – 800 nm lead again to the result that an emission at 650 nm is either caused by an optical transition of the Er3+-ion or initialized by the NBOHC in the host. Overall, it is difficult to assess whether or not these EL signals are generated from the implanted ions, thus detailed statements about the coupling efficiency between the LED and the integrated waveguide are quite inadequate. Nevertheless, the principle of a fully monolithically integrated photonic circuit consisting of a Si-based LED and a waveguide has been successfully proven in this study.

The main objectives of this thesis were to develop a lowtemperature PECVD process suitable for optoelectronicintegration, and to optimize silica glass composition forUV-induced modifications of a refractive index in PECVDfabricated planar devices. The most important achievement isthe successful development of a low temperature silicadeposition, which for the first time makes it is possible tofabricate good quality low loss integrated components whilekeeping the temperature below 250oC during the entirefabrication process. Two strong absorption peaks thatappear at1.5 mm communication window due to N-H and Si-H bonds have beencompletely eliminated by process optimization. This openspossibilities for monolithic integration with other,temperature sensitive devices, such as semiconductor lasers anddetectors, or polymer-based structures on the common siliconplatform. PECVD technology for low loss amorphous silicon inapplication to SiO2/Si based photonic crystal structures hasbeen also optimized to remove hydrogen incorporated during thedeposition process, responsible for the porosity of thedeposited material and creation of similar to silica absorptionbands.

Change of the refractive index of germanium doped silicaunder UV irradiation is commonly used for fabrication of UVinduced fiber Bragg gratings. Here we describe our achievementsin fabrication of fiber Bragg gratings and their application todistributed sensor systems. Recently we have built up a laserlab for UV treatment in application to planar technology. Wehave demonstrated the high photosensitivity of PECVD depositedGe-doped glasses (not thermally annealed) even without hydrogenloading, leading to a record transmission suppression of 47dBin a Bragg grating photoinduced in a straight buried channelwaveguide. We have also used a UV induced refractive indexchange to introduce other device modifications or functions,such as phase shift, wavelength trimming and control ofpolarization birefringence.The developed low temperature technology and the UVprocessing form a unique technology platform for development ofnovel integrated functional devices for optical communicationsystems.

A substantial part of the thesis has been devoted tostudying different plasma deposition parameters and theirinfluence on the optical characteristics of fabricatedwaveguides to find the processing window giving the besttrade-off between the deposition rate,chamber temperatureduring the process, optical losses and presence of absorptionbands within the interesting wavelength range. The optimalconditions identified in this study are low pressure (300-400mTorr), high dilution of silane in nitrous oxide and high totalflow (2000 sccm), low frequency (380 KHz) RF source and high RFpower levels (800-1000 W).

The thesis provides better understanding of the plasmareactions during the deposition process. RF Power is the keyparameter for increasing the rate of surface processes so as toaccommodate each atomic layer in the lowest energy statepossible. All the process conditions which favor a moreenergetic ion bombardment (i.e. low pressure, low frequency andhigh power) improve the quality of the material, making it moredense and similar to thermal oxide, but after a certain pointthe positive trend with increasing power saturates. As theenergy of the incoming ion increases, a competing effect setsin at the surface: ion induced damage and resputtering.

Finally, the developed technologies were applied for thefabrication of some test and new concept devices for opticalcommunication systems including multimode interference (MMI)-based couplers/splitters, state-of-the-art arrayed waveguidegrating-based multi/ demultiplexers, the first Bragg gratingassisted MMI-based add-drop multiplexer, as well as moreresearch oriented devices such as a Mach-Zehnder switch basedon silica poling and a Photonic Crystal-based coupler.

Keywords:silica-on-silicon technology, PECVD, plasmadeposition, photonic integrated circuits, planar waveguidedevices, UV Bragg gratings, photosensitivity, arrayed waveguidegratings, multimode interference couplers, add-dropmultiplexers.

Thesis (Ph.D)--Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010.
Committee Chair: Prof. Ali Adibi; Committee Member: Prof. Joseph Perry; Committee Member: Prof. Stephen Ralph; Committee Member: Prof. Thomas Gaylord. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

Cette thèse porte sur le développement des méthodes d'analyse structurale de la couche mince de GaP epitaxiées sur le substrat de silicium par l'épitaxie par jets moléculaires (MBE), basées sur la diffraction des rayons X (ORX) et combinées à des techniques complémentaires telles que la microscopie électronique en transmission (TEM), la microscopie à force atomique (AFM) et la microscopie à effet tunnel (STM). Le travail est centré sur la caractérisation quantitative de la densité des défauts cristallins comme les micro-macles et les domaines d'inversion présents dans la couche ainsi que l'évaluation de la qualité de surface et l'interface. L'objectif ultime est d'obtenir une plate-forme GaP/Si parfaitement cristallisée sans défaut, via l'optimisation des paramètres de croissance. Nous avons mis en place et utilisé deux méthodes de quantification des micro-macles par la diffraction des rayons X en condition de laboratoire : les figures de pôles pour la visualisation rapide et l'évaluation de la densité des micro-macles et les « rocking-curves » permettent une extraction précise de la faction volumique de domaine maclé. Les propriétés structurales de la plate-forme de GaP/Si ont été considérablement améliorées, après une procédure d'optimisation impliquant la température de croissance, une procédure de croissance alternée (MEE) et une séquence de croissance en deux étapes. Un échantillon quasiment sans micro-macles a été obtenu par le dépôt de 40 monocouches de GaP par MEE à 350 •c suivi d'une surcroissance de 40 nm de GaP par MBE continue, à 500 •c. La surface de l'échantillon est lisse avec une rugosité de 0.3 nm. L'évaluation des domaines d'inversion par la ORX a été effectuée sur les cartographies de l'espace réciproque centrées sur les réflexions GaP de type (OOL), en laboratoire et sur une ligne synchrotron. Les balayages « transverses » extrait à partir des cartographies de l'espace réciproque sont analysés via une méthode dite "Williamson-Hall like", afin d'obtenir la "mosaïcité" qui est reliée à la micro-désorientation des petits domaines cristallins et la longueur de corrélation latérale correspondant à ces petits domaines. La distance moyenne entre parois de domaines d'inversion et ensuite estimé à partir de cette mesure. En utilisant cette méthode d'analyse et les techniques microscopiques, une optimisation plus poussée a été effectuée sur la dose de Ga au stade initial de croissance, l'utilisation de couches de marqueur AIGaP et l'homoépitaxie d'une couche de silicium avant le GaP. Enfin, nous avons obtenu un échantillon ne présentant pas de signal de micro-macle détectable en conditions standard de laboratoire, et une très faible densité de domaine d'inversion. Nous avons aussi observé une interface de GaP/Si visiblement présentant des bi-marches atomiques très régulières, sur un échantillon avec une couche de silicium déposée avant la croissance du GaP
This thesis deals with the development of structural analysis methods of the GaP thin layers heterogeneously grown on the Si substrate by Molecular Beam Epixay (MBE), based on X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses, combined with complementary techniques such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy techniques (AFM) and scanning tunneling microscope (STM). The main work is centered on the quantitative characterization of crystalline defect such as micro-twins and the anti-phase domains, and the evaluation of the surface and interface quality. The ultimate goal is to achieve a perfectly crystallized GaP/Si platform without any defect, through the optimization of the growth conditions. We have applied two micro-twin quantification methods using a XRD lab setup. Pole figure method for fast visualization and evaluation of micro-twin density and rocking curves integration for a more precise absolute quantification of the micro-twin volume fraction. The GaP/Si platform structural properties have been significantly improved, after an optimization procedure involving growth temperature, MEE (Migration Enhanced Epitaxy) growth procedure and a twostep growth sequence. GaP layers quasi-free of MTs are obtained, with a r.m.s. roughness of only 0.3 nm. The APD evaluation by XRD has been performed on reciprocal space maps (RSM) centered on the (OOL) GaP reciprocal space lattice point either in lab setup or on synchrotron. Analysis of the transverse scans extracted from such RSM through the "Willamson-Hall like" method permits obtaining the "mosaicity" that is related to the micro-orientation of the small crystalline domains in the GaP layer, and the lateral correlation length which is considered to be related to the mean distance between two APBs, provided that this distance is approximately homogenous and corresponding to the mean APD size, and the density of other defects are very weak so that their influence can be neglected. Using this analytical method and the microscopic techniques, further optimization has been carried out on Ga amount at the initial growth stage, the use of AIGaP marker layers and the homoepitaxie of Si buffer layer. Finally, sample with none MT signal and very low density of APD has been achieved. Moreover, an abrupt GaP/Si interface displaying regular and double atomic steppes is observed on sample with a Si buffer layer prior to the GaP growth

In this thesis, miniaturized wavelength interrogators based on planar lightwave circuits (PLCs) are investigated and developed for the optical fiber sensing applications in the aircraft structural health monitoring (SHM) and optofluidic analysis. Two interrogation systems based on an arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) and an Echelle diffractive grating (EDG) are developed and used to convert the optical sensing signals into strain, temperature, vibration, damage, and humidity information for the aircraft SHM. A fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensing system using developed interrogators is then demonstrated in a field test for aircraft SHM applications. For optofluidic analysis, a PLCs based optofluidic device consisting of two on-chip lens sets is built to enhance the optical manipulation capability of particles. Then, a solution to a multi-functional Lab-on-a-Chip platform for optofluidic analysis is proposed, which integrates the developed particle maneuvering device, grating-structured sensors, and miniaturized interrogators.

The widespread adoption of photonic circuits requires the economics of volume manufacturing offered by integration technology. A Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor compatible silicon material platform is particularly attractive because it leverages the huge investment that has been made in silicon electronics and its high index contrast enables tight confinement of light which decreases component footprint and energy consumption. Nevertheless, there remain challenges to the development of photonic integrated circuits. Although the density of integration is advancing steady and the integration of the principal components – waveguides, optical sources and amplifiers, modulators, and photodetectors – have all been demonstrated, the integration density is low and the device library far from complete. The integration density is low primarily because of the difficulty of confining light in structures small compared to the wavelength which measured in micrometers. The device library is incomplete because of the immaturity of hybridisation on silicon of other materials required by active devices such as III-V semiconductor alloys and ferroelectric oxides and the difficulty of controlling the coupling of light between disparate material platforms. Metamaterials are nanocomposite materials which have optical properties not readily found in Nature that are defined as much by their geometry as their constituent materials. This offers the prospect of the engineering of materials to achieve integrated components with enhanced functionality. Metamaterials are a class of photonic crystals includes subwavelength grating waveguides, which have already provided breakthroughs in component performance yet require a simpler fabrication process compatible with current minimum feature size limitations. The research reported in this PhD thesis advances our understanding of the structure-property relations of key planar light circuit components and the metamaterial engineering of these properties. The analysis and simulation of components featuring structures that are only just subwavelength is complicated and consumes large computer resources especially when a three dimensional analysis of components structured over a scale larger than the wavelength is desired. This obstructs the iterative design-simulate cycle. An abstraction is required that summarises the properties of the metamaterial pertinent to the larger scale while neglecting the microscopic detail. That abstraction is known as homogenisation. It is possible to extend homogenisation from the long-wavelength limit up to the Bragg resonance (band edge). It is found that a metamaterial waveguide is accurately modeled as a continuous medium waveguide provided proper account is taken of the emergent properties of the homogenised metamaterial. A homogenised subwavelength grating waveguide structure behaves as a strongly anisotropic and spatially dispersive material with a c-axis normal to the layers of a one dimensional multi-layer structure (Kronig-Penney) or along the axis of uniformity for a two dimensional photonic crystal in three dimensional structure. Issues with boundary effects in the near Bragg resonance subwavelength are avoided either by ensuring the averaging is over an extensive path parallel to boundary or the sharp boundary is removed by graded structures. A procedure is described that enables the local homogenised index of a graded structure to be determined. These finding are confirmed by simulations and experiments on test circuits composed of Mach-Zehnder interferometers and individual components composed of regular nanostructured waveguide segments with different lengths and widths; and graded adiabatic waveguide tapers. The test chip included Lüneburg micro-lenses, which have application to Fourier optics on a chip. The measured loss of each lens is 0.72 dB. Photonic integrated circuits featuring a network of waveguides, modulators and couplers are important to applications in RF photonics, optical communications and quantum optics. Modal phase error is one of the significant limitations to the scaling of multimode interference coupler port dimension. Multimode interference couplers rely on the Talbot effect and offer the best in-class performance. Anisotropy helps reduce the Talbot length but temporal and spatial dispersion is necessary to control the modal phase error and wavelength dependence of the Talbot length. The Talbot effect in a Kronig-Penny metamaterial is analysed. It is shown that the metamaterial may be engineered to provide a close approximation to the parabolic dispersion relation required by the Talbot effect for perfect imaging. These findings are then applied to the multimode region and access waveguide tapers of a multi-slotted waveguide multimode interference coupler with slots either in the transverse direction or longitudinal direction. A novel polarisation beam splitter exploiting the anisotropy provided by a longitudinally slotted structure is demonstrated by simulation. The thesis describes the design, verification by simulation and layout of a photonic integrated circuit containing metamaterial waveguide test structures. The test and measurement of the fabricated chip and the analysis of the data is described in detail. The experimental results show good agreement with the theory, with the expected errors due to fabrication process limitations. From the Scanning Electron Microscope images and the measurements, it is clear that at the boundary of the minimum feature size limit, the error increases but still the devices can function.

Cette thèse explore certaines possibilités qu'offre l’optique intégrée en silicium pour des applications en ingénierie quantique.

Un premier chapitre établi la théorie de la propagation non linéaire scalaire du champ électrique dans des guides d’onde en silicium.

La génération de paires dans de tels guides est également présentée.

Le second chapitre reprend un travail expérimental de caractérisation des propriétés non linéaires des guides utilisés. Le résultat original principal de ce travail est un montage de caractérisation non linéaire par la méthode D-scan en régime picoseconde.

Le cœur du travail est présenté dans le troisième chapitre, il s'agit de la mise en évidence, la caractérisation et de l'étude approfondie de la génération de paires de photons au sein de guides d’ondes.

Le dernier chapitre est consacré à l'intégration proprement dite de la source de paires de photons au sein d’un circuit quantique afin de réaliser la majeure partie d’un expérience clé d’optique quantique sur une puce en silicium. Nous présentons deux sources de paires de photons prêtes pour l'intégration avec un circuit optique (paires en cavité et filtration spectrale).

Nous présentons ensuite la préparation d'expériences intégrées préliminaires. En particulier, nous montrons l'enchevêtrement en chemin produit dans une structure intégrée. Nous réalisons également l'expérience de Hong-Ou-Mandel.

Doctorat en Sciences
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Le contexte de cette thèse couvre les dispositifs photoniques hybrides III-V sur silicium. L’étude porte sur l’intégration par collage de matériau à base d'InP sur le silicium, puis la conception d’un guide optique comportant une nanostructuration qui permettra la sélection en longueur d’onde dans un laser DFB hybride. Enfin, on étudie les étapes technologiques de fabrication d’un laser hybride injecté électriquement fonctionnant dans le domaine spectral 1.55µm, et on caractérise les dispositifs. Pour associer les matériaux III-V sur Si, nous avons développé le collage sans couche intermédiaire que l’on nomme collage hétéroépitaxial ou oxide-free. Ce collage est reporté dans la littérature comme présentant une meilleure qualité électrique. Nous avons établi les conditions de préparation permettant d’obtenir des surfaces parfaitement désoxydées, et les conditions de recuit conduisant à une interface hybride sans oxyde et sans dislocation. Mais ce recuit est réalisé à température assez élevée (~450-500°C). Nous avons alors développé le collage avec une fine couche intermédiaire d’oxyde réalisé à plus faible température -300°C- qui présente l'avantage d'être compatible avec la technologie CMOS. Nous avons étudié différentes approches pour élaborer et activer une couche d’oxyde très fine (~3nm), de façon à obtenir une surface collée sans zones localement non collées. Le collage est dans les deux cas réalisé sous vide dans un équipement de type Bonder Suss SB6e. La qualité structurale de l’interface a été observée par STEM et la qualité mécanique du joint de collage a été caractérisée par indentation. Une méthode originale de mesure quantitative et locale de l’énergie du joint de collage a été développée. La qualité optique des couches collées a été étudiée par la mesure de la photoluminescence de puits quantiques placés proches du joint d’interface. En conséquence du collage sans couche intermédiaire ou avec une couche très fine, le design du mode optique est de type double-cœur, qui ne nécessite pas de taper. Le guide optique Si est de type shallow ridge, le confinement latéral étant assuré par un matériau nanostructuré à une période sub-longueur d’onde. Ce matériau fonctionne comme un matériau effectif uniaxe pour lequel on a calculé les indices optiques ordinaire et extraordinaire selon la géométrie de la nanostructuration. On peut rajouter sur cette nanostructuration une super-périodicité qui conduit à un fonctionnement sélectif en longueur d’onde. Le comportement modal du guide est simulé à l'aide du logiciel COMSOL Multiphysics, le comportement spectral est simulé par FTDT 3D. Nous avons validé la pertinence de ce design en mesurant la transmission de guides hybrides. Ce design sera inclus dans un laser et permettra d’obtenir une émission monofréquence de type DFB. Nous avons développé les étapes technologiques nécessaires à la fabrication d’un laser hybride à base d'InP sur Silicium fonctionnant en injection électrique. Nous avons mis en oeuvre de nombreuses techniques, et développé plusieurs procédés spécifiques, en particulier, des procédés de gravure sèche de type Inductive Coupled Plasma Reactive Ion Etching ICP-RIE pour la gravure de la nanostructuration dans le silicium, et pour la gravure du mésa du laser. La présence des 2 matériaux III-V et Si dans le dispositif hybride rend ces étapes complexes. Les premiers résultats peuvent être améliorés en optimisant la technologie des contacts. Un design permettant de s’affranchir de la pénalité thermique présenté par tous les dispositifs ayant les 2 contacts électriques du coté du matériau III-V a été proposé, exploitant le passage du courant à l’interface hybride III-V / Si, ce qui est possible dans le cas du collage oxide-free. Cette approche ouvre des perspectives d’intégration au-delà de la photonique
This work contributes to the general context of III-V materials on Silicon hybrid devices for optical integrated functions, mainly emission/amplification at 1.55µm. Devices are considered for operation under electrical injection, reaching performances relevant for data transfer application. The main three contributions of this work concern: (i) bonding InP-based materials on Si, (ii) nanostructuration of the Si guiding layer for spatial and spectral control of the guided mode and (iii) technology of an hybrid electrically injected laser, with a special attention to the thermal budget. Bonding has been investigated following two approaches. The first one we call heterohepitaxial or oxide-free bonding, is performed without any intermediate layer at a temperature ~450°C. This approach has the great advantage allowing electrical transport across the interface, as reported in the literature. We have developed oxide-free surface preparation for both materials, mainly InP-based layers, and established bonding parameter processing. An in-depth STEM and RX structural characterization has demonstrated an oxide-free reconstructed interface without any dislocation except on one or two atomic layers which accommodate the large lattice mismatch (8.1%) between InP and Si. Photoluminescence of quantum wells intentionally grown close to the interface has shown no degradation. We have also developed an oxide-based bonding process operated at 300°C in order to be compatible with CMOS processing. The original ozone activation of the very thin (~5nm) oxide layer we have proposed demonstrates a bonding surface without any unbonded area due to degassing under annealing. We have developed an original method based on nanoindentation characterization in order to obtain a quantitative and local value of the surface bonding energy. Related to the absence or to the very thin intermediate layer between the two materials, our modal design is based on a double core structure, where most of the optical mode is confined in the Si guiding layer, and no taper is required. The Si waveguide on top of the SOI stack is a shallow ridge. A nanostructured material on both sides of the waveguide core ensures the lateral confinement, the nanostructuration geometry being at a sub-wavelength period in order to operate this material well below its photonic gap. It behaves as an uniaxial material with ordinary and extraordinary indices calculated according to the structuration geometry. Such a structuration allows modal and spectral control of the guided mode. 3D modal and spectral simulation have been performed. We have demonstrated, on a double-period structuration, a wavelength selective operation of hybrid optical waveguides. Such a double-period geometry could be included in a laser design for DFB operation. This nanostructuration has larger potential application such as coupled waveguides arrays or selective resonators. We have developed all the technological processing steps for an electrically injected hybrid laser fabrication. Main developments concern dry etching, performed with the Inductive Coupled Plasma Reactive Ion Etching ICP-RIE technique of both the nanostructuration of the Silicon material, and the mesa of the hybrid laser. Efficient electrical contacts fabrication is also a complex step. First lasers operating performances could be improved. We have investigated a specific design in order to overcome the thermal penalty encountered by all the hybrid devices. This penalty is due to the thick buried oxide layer of the SOI stack that prevents heating related to the current flow to be dissipated. Taking advantage of the electrical transport we have shown at the oxide-free interface, we propose a design where the n-contact is defined on the guiding Si layer, suppressing thermal heating under electrical operation. Such an approach is very promising for densely packed hybrid devices integrated with associated electronic driving elements on Si

Reliability and sensitive information protection are critical aspects of integrated circuits. A novel technique using near-field evanescent wave coupling from two subwavelength gratings (SWGs), with the input laser source delivered through an optical fiber is presented for tamper evidence of electronic components. The first grating of the pair of coupled subwavelength gratings (CSWGs) was milled directly on the output facet of the silica fiber using focused ion beam (FIB) etching. The second grating was patterned using e-beam lithography and etched into a glass substrate using reactive ion etching (RIE). The slightest intrusion attempt would separate the CSWGs and eliminate near-field coupling between the gratings. Tampering, therefore, would become evident. Computer simulations guided the design for optimal operation of the security solution. The physical dimensions of the SWGs, i.e. period and thickness, were optimized, for a 650 nm illuminating wavelength. The optimal dimensions resulted in a 560 nm grating period for the first grating etched in the silica optical fiber and 420 nm for the second grating etched in borosilicate glass. The incident light beam had a half-width at half-maximum (HWHM) of at least 7 µm to allow discernible higher transmission orders, and a HWHM of 28 µm for minimum noise. The minimum number of individual grating lines present on the optical fiber facet was identified as 15 lines. Grating rotation due to the cylindrical geometry of the fiber resulted in a rotation of the far-field pattern, corresponding to the rotation angle of moiré fringes. With the goal of later adding authentication to tamper evidence, the concept of CSWGs signature was also modeled by introducing random and planned variations in the glass grating. The fiber was placed on a stage supported by a nanomanipulator, which permitted three-dimensional displacement while maintaining the fiber tip normal to the surface of the glass substrate. A 650 nm diode laser was fixed to a translation mount that transmitted the light source through the optical fiber, and the output intensity was measured using a silicon photodiode. The evanescent wave coupling output results for the CSWGs were measured and compared to the simulation results.

Pour concevoir au mieux des dispositifs photoniques, il est important d’avoir des outils de modélisation fiables et efficaces. En effet si le quadrillage de paramètres technologiques est envisageable pour des dispositifs simples, son coût en nombre de tests devient rapidement un frein à l’optimisation de structures. Il devient donc indispensable de disposer de simulations totalement vectorielles, avec des matériaux à indices de réfraction complexes, de garantir la prise en compte de l’ensemble des modes de propagation (modes guidés, rayonnés et évanescents), bidirectionnelles … La simulation de structures à fort contraste d’indice de réfraction (photonique sur silicium) ou les structures utilisant des motifs métalliques générant des modes plasmoniques ou des motifs sub-longueur d’onde comme les métamatériaux … est un ensemble d’exemples qui nécessite l’utilisation de ces outils. Ces derniers se différencient par leur méthode de calcul utilisée : calcul dans le domaine fréquentiel par différences finies ou éléments finis, méthode temporelle par la méthode des différences finies … Par exemple, la FDTD est devenue ces dernières années un outil de référence dans le milieu de la photonique sur silicium. Cependant, ces méthodes ne sont pas forcément optimales. Elles diffèrent par les ressources numériques nécessaires notamment sur la mémoire utilisée, le temps de calcul, la prise en comptes des conditions de continuité, la discrétisation de la structure ainsi que leur domaine d’application (spectral ou spatial) … Ces quinze dernières années au sein du laboratoire (IMEP-Lahc), des outils basés sur la RCWA ont été développés dans ce sens pour simuler des structures très différentes allant de l’optique diffractive à l’optique guidée. Néanmoins, cette méthode comme la FDTD peut générer des approximations induisant des imprécisions ou une augmentation des ressources numériques utilisées dans certaines configurations. L’objectif de cette thèse est de développer un outil plus général dans le but de réduire ces imperfections tout en gardant la possibilité de l’utiliser sur une multitude d’applications de la photonique (optique diffractive, optique guidée …). Mon choix s’est porté sur la méthode différentielle largement utilisée pour l’étude des réseaux de diffraction. Cette méthode peut être plus efficace que la RCWA mais peut avoir aussi des limites pour la simulation de structures à profil complexe notamment en polarisation TM. Depuis les années 2000, l’ajout d’un nouveau module dénommé FFF (Fast Fourier Factorisation), permet de résoudre cette problématique et ouvrir de nouvelles potentialités à cette méthode. Après une introduction générale, la méthode différentielle associée à la FFF est présentée en détails. Ensuite, une solution simple et rapide qui permet de résoudre le problème des divergences numériques dans le cas des métaux ayant une permittivité purement réelle et négative est proposée. Puis, l’étude complète d’une structure diffractive diélectrique utilisée pour des applications de sécurité visuelle est proposée. La simulation de la structure diffractive est associée à un module utilisant un réseau de neurones pour le design et la modélisation optimale de ces structures. Finalement, pour adapter la méthode aux structures photoniques guidées, une transformée de coordonnées inspirée par la FMM apériodique a été implémentée dans l’algorithme de la MD-FFF transformant cette dernière en une méthode apériodique pour la simulation 2D de structures optiques intégrées utilisant des matériaux à indice de réfraction complexe, non-isotropes et non-magnétiques. La décomposition de la propagation sur une base de modes propres peut permettre d’accéder à des informations non directement accessibles avec la FDTD par exemple. Des résultats plus précis, plus rapides et plus rigoureux ont été obtenues par rapport à laFMM notamment en polarisation TM avec des profils curvilignes comme dans le cas des structures cylindriques
Nowadays to design photonic devices, it is important to have reliable and efficient simulation tools. In fact, if exploiting the technological grids of the design parameters is considered possible for the simple devices, its cost in terms of number of tests becomes an obstacle to the optimization of the structures. Therefore, it is essential to develop fully vectorial simulations, with complex or/and real refractive indices materials, to guarantee that all the propagation modes (guided, radiated and evanescent modes) are taken into account. The simulations of the structures with high contrast refractive index (Silicon photonics for example) or structures using metallic layer and generating plasmonic modes or sub-wavelength structures like metamaterials are a set of examples that requires the use of these tools. These methods can be differentiated by their used calculation algorithm: calculation in the frequency domain by finite differences or finite elements, Fourier based methods, or calculation in the temporal domain with the finite difference method... For example, the FDTD has become in the recent years a reference tool in the domain of silicon photonics. However, almost all these methods are not necessarily optimal. They can be distinguishable by the required numerical resources, particularly in terms of the used memory, the execution time, the take into account of the boundary conditions, the discretization of the structure, or their workspace domain (spectral or spatial) ... Over the last fifteen years, the group involved with the development of electromagnetic tools in the laboratory (IMEP-Lahc), headed towards the development of RCWA based numerical tools to simulate and design the optical response of diffractive and guided optic structures. However, this last method as the FDTD can generate approximations inducing inaccuracies or an increase in the numerical resources used for certain configurations (memory, execution time...). The objective of this thesis is to develop a more general tool aiming to reduce these imperfections while retaining the possibility of using it on a multitude of photonics applications (diffractive optics, guided optics, etc.). My choice fell on the differential method which is widely used for the study of diffraction gratings. This method can be more efficient than the RCWA but it also has limitations especially for the simulation of periodic structures with complex profile in TM polarization. Since the 2000s, the association of a new module called FFF (Fast Fourier Factorization) has solved this problem and opened up new possibilities for this method. After a general introduction, the differential method associated with the FFF is presented in detail. Then, a simple and fast solution which makes the use of this method with metals having a purely real and negative permittivity is proposed and solve the problem of divergence faced before. Consequently, a complete study of a dielectric diffractive structure visual security applications is subsequently detailed. Moreover, the developed code of the DM-FFF is integrated in neural networks algorithm for optimal modeling and design of visual security structures. Finally, to meet the condition of generalizing the method for the different photonic structures (guided and diffractive), a coordinate transform inspired from the aperiodic FMM was implemented in the algorithm of the DM-FFF transforming the last one into an aperiodic method for the simulation of 2D integrated optical structures for complex, non-isotropic and non-magnetic materials. The decomposition of the propagation of eigenmode basis can provide access to information which are not directly provided by the FDTD for example (guided modes, radiated modes …). More precise, faster and more rigorous results were obtained compared to a-FMM especially in TM polarization with curvilinear profiles such as the case of cylindrical structures

This dissertation attempts to understand how energy transfer in a molecular wire and a spherical organic assembly are affected by molecular structure. The molecular wire is a DNA-hybrid structure composed of a strand of thymine bases appended by a cyanine dye. Hydrogen bonded to each base is a naphthalene-derivative molecule. Using time-integrated photoluminescence and time-correlated single photon counting measurements, energy transfer from the naphthalene donors to the cyanine acceptors was confirmed, and its dependence on temperature and DNA-template length investigated. Donor-thymine bonding was disrupted at temperatures above about 25 degrees Celcius resulting in poor donor template decoration and low rates of energy transfer. Increasing numbers of donors attach to the scaffold, forming an orderly array, as the template length increases due to the stabilising effects of the donor-donor pi-stacking interactions. Conversely, modelled energy transfer rates fall as the scaffold length increases because of the longer donor-acceptor distances involved. Therefore, the energy transfer rate was greatest for a template built from 30 thymines. The spherical organic assemblies (nanoparticles) are formed by fast injection of a small volume of molecularly dissolved fluorene-derivative amphiphilic molecules into a polar solvent. The amphiphilic molecules contained either a naphthalene (donor) or a benzothiadiazole (acceptor) core. The donor-acceptor mixed nanoparticles resemble an amorphous polymer film and were modelled as such using the Foerster resonance energy transfer theory. The Foerster radii extracted from the measurements depends intricately on the donor-acceptor spectral overlap and distance. The latter effect was controlled by the stacking interactions between the molecules. Altering the morphology of the structural units is the key to optimising energy transfer in molecular structures. To achieve efficient organic molecule-based devices, the importance of this property needs to be fully appreciated and effectively exploited.

The successful development of future photonic quantum technologies heavily depends on the possibility of realizing robust and scalable nano-photonic devices. These shall include quantum emitters as on-demand single-photon sources and non-linear elements, provided their transition linewidth is broadened only by spontaneous emission. However, on-chip integration is typically detrimental for the emitter coherence properties. Moreover, conventional fabrication approaches are hardly scalable and bear limitations in terms of geometries and materials. In this thesis I present the development and realization of an alternative platform, which combines on a chip the freedom of three-dimensional polymeric architectures with the optimal properties of single photon emission from fluorescent molecules. Three-dimensional patterns are achieved via direct laser writing around selected molecular emitters, with a fast, inexpensive and scalable fabrication process. The experimental results entail deterministic positioning of the source, fabrication on different substrates (dielectric, metallic) as well as integration in suspended designs. Typical degradation affecting the photophysical properties of the emitter after nanofabrication is here avoided, and photostable close-to Fourier-limited emission from a single embedded dibenzoterrylene molecule at 3 K is demonstrated. Furthermore, enhanced light extraction is achieved in a micro-dome solid immersion lens design. In particular, the realization of the platform strongly relies on the identification of an especially suitable emitter. In this context, the simple and cost-effective reprecipitation protocol developed in our group, specifically enables fast fabrication of nanostructured anthracene (Ac) crystals with controllable concentration of dibenzoterrylene (DBT) molecules, which remarkably preserve the exeptional photophysical properties of the DBT:Ac bulk system. As described and characterized at the beginning of the thesis, this source exhibits a photostable and life-time limited single-photon emission (at cryogenic temperatures) in a nanocrystalline environment, and is hence naturally suitable to deterministic positioning and integration into photonic structures. Furthermore, featuring an appropriate combination of emission properties, this molecular single-photon source is also demonstrated to find practical application in quantum radiometry as metrology standard for photon fluxes at the low light level, for the calibration of silicon single-photon avalanche detectors. At the end of the thesis, we also investigate the possibility of handling and manipulating DBT:Ac nanocrystals for achieving deterministic positioning on silicon nitride (SiN) photonic circuits, through the patterning of a water-soluble polymer via electron-beam lithography.

Nanoscale devices offer the technological advances to enable a new era in computing. Device sizes at the molecular-scale have the potential to expand the domain of conventional computer systems to reach into environments and application domains that are otherwise impractical, such as single-cell sensing or micro-environmental monitoring.

New potential application domains, like biological scale computing, require processing elements that can function inside nanoscale volumes (e.g. single biological cells) and are thus subject to extreme size and resource constraints. In this thesis we address these critical new domain challenges through a synergistic approach that matches manufacturing techniques, circuit technology, and architectural design with application requirements. We explore and vertically integrate these three fronts: a) assembly methods that can cost-effectively provide nanometer feature sizes, b) device technologies for molecular-scale computing and sensing, and c) architectural design techniques for nanoscale processors, with the goal of mapping a potential path toward achieving molecular-scale computing.

We make four primary contributions in this thesis. First, we develop and experimentally demonstrate a scalable, cost-effective DNA self-assembly-based fabrication technique for molecular circuits. Second, we propose and evaluate Resonance Energy Transfer (RET) logic, a novel nanoscale technology for computing based on single-molecule optical devices. Third, we design and experimentally demonstrate selective sensing of several biomolecules using RET-logic elements. Fourth, we explore the architectural implications of integrating computation and molecular sensors to form nanoscale sensor processors (nSP), nanoscale-sized systems that can sense, process, store and communicate molecular information. Through the use of self-assembly manufacturing, RET molecular logic, and novel architectural techniques, the smallest nSP design is about the size of the largest known virus.

Dissertation

碩士
國立高雄海洋科技大學
微電子工程研究所
101
This research plans for three kinds of integration Polystyrene (PS) nanospheres self-assembly photonic crystal onto the chip-ready surface-coupled photodiode (SCPD) designed for high speed operation to enhance the responsivity. The first way is the PS nanospheres with various dimensions and spaces on the surface of photodiode, the second way is the SiO2 nanorod formed submicro- pattern created by SiO2 reactive ion etch through PS nanosphere as a mask and the third way is the inverse opal structure deposited by chemical vapor deposition at room temperature through PS nanosphere as a mask. These integrations provide the advantages of low cost and easy manufacture to create greater angles of incidence and refraction angle, to smooth over the optical intensity of incident Gaussian distribution, to release the screening effect, to contribute the longer transmission length and to produce a higher responsivity through the photonic crystal and additional slope onto the SCPD. Keywords: Surface Coupled Photodiode; Photonic Crystal; Responsivity

碩士
國立臺灣科技大學
電子工程系
98
We have designed and fabricated electroabsorption modulator (EAM) integrated semiconductor lasers and reflective EAM integrated semiconductor optical amplifiers (amplified modulator) on single chip by utilizing the dual-quantum well (DQW) platform. These optoelectronic devices can be used as the light source in optical line terminal (OLT) and optical network unit (ONU) of optical fiber communication system. The active layers contain two set of compressive strained InGaAsP multi-quantum wells (MQWs) with different composition to provide different energy bandgap for different regions in the integrated devices. The emission and modulation wavelength band of two MQW sets were designed to be around 1.56 to 1.57 um. The optical confinement factors of MQWs for gain and modulation in DQWs were simulated to be 0.0413 and 0.0855, respectively. The coupling efficiency between gain and modulation region was about 85%. These results were used to analyze and design the device length. The purpose of this thesis was to design amplified modulators and electroabsorption modulated lasers (EML) with a high extinction ratio (>10 dB) and a high operation bandwidth (> 10 GHz). The monitoring FP lasers, monitoring EAMs, and amplified modulators were successfully fabricated. For monitoring FP lasers, measured threshold current and contact resistance were about 30 mA and 10 to 20 Ω, respectively. For monitoring EAMs, measured modulation wavelength band was between 1.56 and 1.58 um. Measured relaxation frequency of monitoring EAM was about 5.4 GHz. Internal loss, internal quantum efficiency and characteristic temperature of DQW material were also derived. We have achieved a superior electrical isolation with larger than 1MΩ electrical resistance between gain and modulation region using ion implantation scheme. The optical signal extinction ratio of cleaved-cleaved amplified modulator reached 11 dB. We believe that higher extinction ratio can be achieved in high-reflection and anti-reflection coated amplified modulators.

A major focus is on integrated Silicon-based optoelectronics for the creation of low-cost photonics for mass-market applications. Especially, the growing demand for sensitive and portable optical sensors in the environmental control and medicine follows in the development of integrated high resolution sensors [1]. In particular, since 2013 the quick onsite verification of pathogens, like legionella in drinking water pipes, is becoming increasingly important [2, 3]. The essential questions regarding the establishment of portable biochemical sensors are the incorporation of electronic and optical devices as well as the implementations of fundamental cross-innovations between biotechnology and microelectronics. This thesis describes the design, fabrication and analysis of high-refractive-index-contrast photonic structures. Besides silicon nitride (Si3N4) strip waveguides, lateral tapers, bended waveguides, two-dimensional photonic crystals (PhCs) the focus lies on monolithically integrated waveguide butt-coupled Silicon-based light emitting devices (Sibased LEDs) [4, 5] for use as bioanalytical sensor components. Firstly, the design and performance characteristics as single mode regime, confinement factor and propagation losses due to the geometry and operation wavelength (1550 nm, 541 nm) of single mode (SM), multi mode (MM) waveguides and bends are studied and simulated. As a result, SM operation is obtained for 1550 nm by limiting the waveguide cross-section to 0.5 μm x 1 μm resulting in modal confinement factors of 87 %. In contrast, for shorter wavelengths as 541 nm SM propagation is excluded if the core height is not further decreased. Moreover, the obtained theoretical propagation losses for the lowestorder TE/TM mode are in the range of 0.3 - 1.3 dB/cm for an interface roughness of 1 nm. The lower silicon dioxide (SiO2) waveguide cladding should be at least 1 μm to avoid substrate radiations. These results are in a good correlation to the known values for common dielectric structures. In the case of bended waveguides, an idealized device with a radius of 10 μm was developed which shows a reflection minimum (S11 = - 22 dB) at 1550 nm resulting in almost perfect transmission of the signal. Additionally, tapered waveguides were investigated for an optimized light coupling between high-aspect-ratio devices. Here, adiabatic down-tapered waveguides were designed for the elimination of higher-order modes and perfect signal transmission. Secondly, fabrication lines including Electron-beam (E-beam) lithography and reactive ion etching (RIE) with an Aluminum (Al) mask were developed and lead to well fabricated optical devices in the (sub)micrometer range. The usage of focused ion beam (FIB) milling is invented for smoother front faces which were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). As a result, the anisotropy of the RIE process was increased, but the obtained surface roughness parameters are still too high (10 – 20 nm) demonstrating a more advanced lithography technique is needed for higher quality structures. Moreover, this study presents an alternative fabrication pathway for novel designed waveguides with free-edge overlapping endfaces for improving fiber-chipcoupling. Thirdly, the main focus lies on the development of a monolithic integration circuit consisting of the Si-based LED coupled to an integrated waveguide. The light propagation between high-aspect-ratio devices is enabled through low-loss adiabatic tapers. This study shows, that the usage of CMOS-related fabrication technologies result in a monolithic manufacturing pathway for the successful implementation of fully integrated Si-based photonic circuits. Fourth, transmission loss measurements of the fabricated photonic structures as well as the waveguide butt-coupled Si-based LEDs were performed with a generated setup. As a result, free-edge overlapping MM waveguides show propagation loss coefficients of ~ 65 dB/cm in the range of the telecommunication wavelength. The high surface roughness parameters (~ 150 nm) and the modal dispersion in the core are one of the key driving factors. These facts clearly underline the improvement potential of the used fabrication processes. However, electroluminescence (EL) measurements of waveguide butt-coupled Si-based LEDs due to the implanted rare earth (RE) ion (Tb3+, Er3+) and the host material (SiO2/SiNx) were carried out. The detected transmission spectra of the coupled Tb:SiO2 systems show a weak EL signal at the main transition line of the Tb3+-ion (538 nm). A second emission line was detected in the red region of the spectrum either corresponding to a further optical transition of Tb3+ or a Non Bridging Oxygen Hole Center (NBOHC) in SiO2. Unfortunately, no light emission in the infrared range was established for the Er3+-doped photonic circuits caused by the low external quantum efficiencies (EQE) of the Er3+ implanted Si-based LEDs. Nevertheless, transmission measurements between 450 nm – 800 nm lead again to the result that an emission at 650 nm is either caused by an optical transition of the Er3+-ion or initialized by the NBOHC in the host. Overall, it is difficult to assess whether or not these EL signals are generated from the implanted ions, thus detailed statements about the coupling efficiency between the LED and the integrated waveguide are quite inadequate. Nevertheless, the principle of a fully monolithically integrated photonic circuit consisting of a Si-based LED and a waveguide has been successfully proven in this study.

This thesis presents an analysis of photon pairs generated via either spontaneous parametric downconversion or spontaneous four-wave mixing in channel waveguides as well as in microring resonators side-coupled to channel waveguides. The state of photons exiting a particular device is calculated within a general Hamiltonian formalism that simplifies the link between quantum nonlinear optics experiments and classical nonlinear optics experiments. This state contains information regarding photon pair production efficiency as well as modal and spectral correlations between the two photons, characterized by a two-dimensional spectral distribution function called the biphoton wave function. In the limit of a low probability of pair production, photon pair production fficiencies are cast into forms resembling corresponding well-known classical nonlinear optical frequency conversion efficiencies, making it easy to see what plays the role of a classical “seed” field in an un-seeded (quantum) process. This also allows photon pair production efficiencies to be calculated based on the results of classical nonlinear optical experiments. It is further calculated that, unless enerated photons are collected over a very narrow frequency range, their generation efficiency does not scale the same way with device length in a channel waveguide, or resonance quality factor in a microring resonator, as might be expected from the corresponding classical frequency conversion efficiency. Although calculations do not include self- or cross-phase modulation, nor two-photon absorption or free-carrier absorption, it is calculated that their neglect is justified in the low pair production probability limit. Linear (scattering) loss is also neglected, though partially addressed in the final chapter of this thesis. Biphoton wave functions are calculated explicitly, such that their shape and orientation, including approximate analytic expressions for their widths, can easily be determined. This further allows estimation of the suitability of their associated photon pairs for various quantum information processing applications. As an alternative to dispersion engineering a channel waveguide photon pair source, it is calculated that microring resonators can very naturally produce nearly spectrally uncorrelated photon pairs, which behave very much like idealized single-mode photons and are thus useful for applications involving the interference of photons from multiple sources.

博士
國立臺灣大學
光電工程學研究所
103
Silicon nanowires on the silicon-on-insulator (SOI) platform have great potential for ultrasmall photonic integrated circuits (PICs) because of their compatibility with mature complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technologies. However, the polarization-dependence issues such as polarization dependent dispersion and polarization-dependent loss of SOI PICs highly restrict their integration with modern fiber-optics communication system. In this thesis, horizontal slot waveguide-based directional couplers (DCs) are successfully employed to overcome the problem of polarization-dependence in designing fundamental SOI waveguide-based components. Through tailoring the ratio of the coupling lengths for quasi-TE and quasi-TM modes, a highly efficient polarization beam splitter (PBS) and a polarization-independent DC (PIDC) are proposed. Owing to structural birefringence, the coupling effects of the quasi-TE and quasi-TM modes in the DC may vary with the waveguide geometry. Therefore, numerical simulations based on finite-element method (FEM) are conducted to obtain the optimal design parameters for high efficiency and compact device size by varying the aspect ratios and waveguide spacing. Furthermore, the relation between the slot thickness and the propagation losses of optical mode power leaked into the silicon substrate of practical SOI wafer is investigated in detail. The simulation shows that there exists a trade-off between the attenuation constant and the coupling lengths of both the quasi-TE and quasi-TM modes. In the thesis, the coupling length of the proposed PIDC is only 6.93 μm, and its extinction ratio is kept at around 15 dB with a 1-dB bandwidth larger than 100 nm. For the proposed PBS, the coupling length is 65.87μm while delivering the good performance with extinction ratios of more than 20 dB and 1-dB bandwidth of larger than 30 nm. In view of future device fabrication, the fabrication-error tolerances on device length and waveguide width are also discussed.