Demonstration of an ultra-short polarization converter in InGaAsP/InP membrane

An ultra-short (<10 µm length) polarization converter is demonstrated in an indium phosphide based membrane. Measurements show very high polarization conversion efficiency (97 %) with low excess losses (~ 1 dB)

A novel optically wide-band electro-absorption modulator based on bandfilling in n-InGaAs

We propose a novel membrane electro-absorption modulator (EAM) integrated on silicon. The device is based on the carrier-concentration dependent absorption of highly-doped n-InGaAs. The modulator is predicted to be wide-band and to provide an extinction ratio (ER) of 7.5 dB, an insertion loss (IL) of 1.1 dB, a modulation speed above 10 Gbit/s and a power consumption of 80 fJ/bit. The modulator has a small footprint of 10 x 120 μm² and operates with a 1.5 V voltage swing

High-bandwidth uni-traveling carrier waveguide photodetector on an InP-membrane-on-silicon platform

A uni-traveling carrier photodetector (UTC-PD), heterogeneously integrated on silicon, is demonstrated. It is fabricated in an InP-based photonic membrane bonded on a silicon wafer, using a novel double-sided processing scheme. A very high 3 dB bandwidth of beyond 67 GHz is obtained, together with a responsivity of 0.7 A/W at 1.55 μm wavelength. In addition, open eye diagrams at 54 Gb/s are observed. These results promise high speed applications using a novel full-functionality photonic platform on silicon

Planar concave grating demultiplexers on an InP-membrane-on-silicon photonic platform

We present measurement results of a 0.25 mm(2) footprint eight-channel planar concave grating demultiplexer fabricated in a 300-nm-thick InP membrane adhesively bonded to silicon. The measured cross-talk between the different channels of the device is better than -18 dB, while the insertion loss is 2.8 dB. The power non-uniformity between the channels is 1.2 dB

Oxidation of AlInAs for current blocking in a photonic crystal laser

To make an electrically pumped photonic crystal membrane laser is a challenging task. One of the problems is how to avoid short circuiting between the p- and n-doped parts of the laser diode, when the membrane thickness is limited to 200-300nm. We propose to use the oxide of AlInAs to realize a current blocking function. In this way, based on submicron selective area re-growth, we aim for electrically injected photonic crystal lasers with high output power, small threshold currents and low power consumption. Here results are presented on the oxidation of AlInAs. The results show that it is feasible to use the oxide of AlInAs for current blocking in an InP-based membrane photonic crystal laser

Low-optical-loss, low-resistance Ag/Ge based ohmic contacts to n-type InP for membrane based waveguide devices

We present the development of Ag/Ge based ohmic contacts to n-type InP with both low contact resistances and relatively low optical losses. A specific contact resistance as low as 1.5×10-6 O cm2 is achieved by optimizing the Ge layer thickness and annealing conditions. The use of Ge instead of metal as the first deposited layer results in a low optical absorption loss in the telecommunication wavelength range. Compared to Au based contacts, the Ag based metallization also shows considerably reduced spiking effects after annealing. Contacts with different lengths are deposited on top of InP membrane waveguides to characterize the optical loss before and after annealing. A factor of 5 reduction of the propagation loss compared to the conventional Au/Ge/Ni contact is demonstrated. This allows for much more optimized designs for membrane photonic devices

Indium phosphide photonic circuits on silicon electronics

The intimate integration of photonics and electronics in transceivers facilitates energy-efficiency, bandwidth acceleration and a route to radical miniaturization. We present and implement a wafer-to-wafer integration method which combines electronic and photonic foundry technologies

Increase tolerance polarization convertors

An optical polarization converter device includes a first polarization converter section [1100] and a second polarization converter section [1102], which have mirror image cross-sections of each other and which are made of a common material and have orientation (i.e., tilt) errors equal in magnitude and opposite in sign. Preferably, one section has half, the other one and a half times the length of an original (single section, non-tolerant) polarization converter, i.e., the lengths of the two sections have a ratio of 1:3. Other embodiments include length ratios of 3:5 and 5:7. In addition to correcting fabrication errors, the polarization converter also corrects errors due to temperature and wavelength, improving the tolerance with respect to operational conditions

New concept for a co-directional polarization insensitive SOA-based wavelength converter

VPI-simulation of a new all-optical wavelength converter is presented. It is based on interferometric effects in two Mach-Zehnder interferometers (MZI), parallel connected by polarization components (PCs). The PCs provide filtering between probe and signal wavelengths, and polarization-insensitive operation. Different efficiency values for PCs are supposed. Simulation shows wide operational range (10 dB) for the input power. Results obtained are also suitable for cascading these devices in optical networks (extinction ratio >10 dB, isolation >20 dB)