| Authors: | W. Bogaerts, V. Wiaux, D. Taillaert, S. Beckx, R. Baets | | Title: | Making lots of little holes (Or using CMOS mass fabrication technology to make photonic crystals) | | Format: | National Workshop | | Publication date: | 5/2002 | | Journal/Conference/Book: | LEOS benelux Photonic Crystal Workshop
| | Location: | Gent, Belgium | | Citations: | Look up on Google Scholar
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Abstract
Todays photonic ICs (PIC) are large, especially when compared to ULSI electronic circuits. To increase the level of integration in photonic components, compact building blocks to perform the elementary functions are required. Photonic Crystals offer a way to this reduction in size. However, because of their wavelength-scale feature sizes, these structures are very difficiult to fabricate at the most popula telecom wavelengths of 1.55Æ’Ãm and 1.3Æ’Ãm. For research purposes, these structure are therefore fabricated with electron beam lithography, a very accurate yet extremely slow pattern definition technique. While this produces satisfactory structures, this technique is too slow to be used for commercial fabrication. Manufacturing technology similar to that of state-of-the art CMOS components is needed to achieve both the accuracy and the throughput for mass fabrication of ultra-compact PICs.
We demonstrate the use of deep UV lithography for the fabrication of wavelength-scale photonic structures, including photonic crystals. Deep UV lithography, as used today in the high-end CMOS industry, promises to deliver the accuracy together with the high volume capacity. We will discuss the fabrication process, and how the differences of these structures with typical CMOS structures make the application of this technology anything but straightforward.
Still, the fabricated structures are well defined, with limited sidewall roughness. Optical measurements on the fabricated photonic crystal waveguides show guiding of light, even through a double 60-degree bend.
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