High-Performance, High-Index-Contrast Chalcogenide Glass Photonics on Silicon and Unconventional Non-planar Substrates

TL;DR

This paper introduces a versatile, low-temperature fabrication method for high-index-contrast chalcogenide glass photonic structures on silicon and plastic substrates, enabling high-quality micro-ring resonators with ultra-high Q-factors.

Contribution

It presents a novel, simple, and compatible nanoimprint technique for creating high-performance photonic devices on various substrates, including non-planar plastics.

Findings

Achieved a record-high Q-factor of 400,000 in chalcogenide micro-ring resonators.

Demonstrated sub-micron nanoimprint on non-planar plastic substrates.

Produced low-loss, sub-micron waveguides with smooth surfaces.

Abstract

This paper reports a versatile, roll-to-roll and backend compatible technique for the fabrication of high-index-contrast photonic structures on both silicon and plastic substrates. The fabrication technique combines low-temperature chalcogenide glass film deposition and resist-free single-step thermal nanoimprint to process low-loss (1.6 dB/cm), sub-micron single-mode waveguides with a smooth surface finish using simple contact photolithography. Using this approach, the first chalcogenide glass micro-ring resonators are fabricated by thermal nanoimprint. The devices exhibit an ultra-high quality-factor of 400,000 near 1550 nm wavelength, which represents the highest value reported in chalcogenide glass micro-ring resonators. Furthermore, sub-micron nanoimprint of chalcogenide glass films on non-planar plastic substrates is demonstrated, which establishes the method as a facile route for monolithic fabrication of high-index-contrast devices on a wide array of unconventional substrates.