Fabrication of low-loss lithium niobate on insulator waveguides on the wafer scale

TL;DR

This paper presents a wafer-scale fabrication process for low-loss lithium niobate on insulator waveguides, achieving high-quality single mode waveguides with low propagation loss suitable for large-scale integrated photonics.

Contribution

The authors develop a cost-effective, fast, and simplified dry etching method for wafer-scale production of low-loss lithium niobate waveguides, advancing integrated photonics manufacturing.

Findings

Waveguides with ~2 dB/m loss measured

Residuals and re-deposition eliminated

Process suitable for large-scale production

Abstract

We report on the wafer scale fabrication of single mode low-loss lithium niobate on insulator waveguides utilizing a chemically amplified resist and an optimized dry etching method. The fabricated single mode waveguides are free of residuals and re-deposition, with measured losses for straight waveguides around 2 dB/m (0.02 dB/cm). We present on a method offering advantages for large-scale production due to its cost-effectiveness, faster writing time, and simplified processes. This work holds promise for advancing integrated photonics and optical communication technologies.