Near-Infrared Self-Written Optical Waveguides for Fiber-to-Chip Self-Coupling

Hidetaka Terasawa,Okihiro Sugihara

doi:10.1109/jlt.2021.3115237

Abstract

The light-induced self-written (LISW) waveguide technique is a promising candidate for the practical realization of a passive alignment between telecommunication and silicon photonic devices. While silicon is transparent to wavelengths above 1100 nm, the one-photon polymerization wavelength range is limited below 1100 nm. In this study, LISW waveguide fabrication at telecommunication wavelengths was demonstrated using a single-photon photopolymerizing resin. The LISW waveguide fabrication threshold values are lower than that of the two-photon photopolymerization system by six to seven orders of magnitude. LISW waveguides are fabricated from a single-mode fiber, a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser, and a silicon waveguide. Using this technique, fiber-to-chip self-coupling between silicon photonic devices at telecommunication wavelengths is demonstrated. The results demonstrate the potential of the LISW technique for optical self-coupling of telecommunication and silicon photonic devices.

Highlights

SILICON nanophotonics has received considerable attention in recent years because they achieve electro-optical integration, resulting in high-density integration, low cost, and energy-efficient systems [1]
In conclusion, light-induced self-written (LISW) waveguide fabrication using 1550-nm continuous wave (CW) lasers has been demonstrated for the first time
The LISW waveguide was fabricated using an near infrared (NIR) CW laser at 1070 nm, 1310 nm, and 1550 nm, where amine, thiol, or silane coinitiators were used as the third components

Summary

Introduction

SILICON nanophotonics has received considerable attention in recent years because they achieve electro-optical integration, resulting in high-density integration, low cost, and energy-efficient systems [1]. This technique can be used to fabricate a self-aligned polymer optical waveguide by applying the light emitted from optical components to the photopolymerizing resin [6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17]. To connect silicon photonic devices on the basis of the LISW technique, it is necessary to fabricate an LISW waveguide at telecommunication wavelengths.

Results

Conclusion