Methods and apparatus providing thermal isolation of photonic devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11217737-B2
Application number	US-202016945309-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 31, 2020
Priority date	Jun 15, 2012
Publication date	Jan 4, 2022
Grant date	Jan 4, 2022

Abstract

Described embodiments include photonic integrated circuits and systems with photonic devices, including thermal isolation regions for the photonic devices. Methods of fabricating such circuits and systems are also described.

First claim

We claim:

1. A method of operating an integrated structure, the method comprising:
heating, with a heating device formed in a device formation region of the integrated structure, a temperature-sensitive photonic device formed in the device formation region; and
thermally isolating, with a thermal isolation structure located in a trench formed in an upper surface of a substrate of the integrated structure, the substrate,
wherein the heating device is located directly over the thermal isolation structure, and
wherein the temperature-sensitive photonic device is laterally separated from the thermal isolation structure such that the temperature-sensitive photonic device is not formed directly over the thermal isolation structure.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising operating a waveguide formed in the device formation region, wherein the waveguide is separated from the trench by a portion of the substrate.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the thermal isolation structure comprises a physical gap between the heating device and substrate.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the thermal isolation structure is a first thermal isolation structure, and further comprising thermally isolating, with a second thermal isolation structure, the temperature-sensitive photonic device.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the second thermal isolation structure is located in the trench.

6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the first thermal isolation structure and the second thermal structure comprise separate materials.

7. The method of claim 4 , wherein the trench is a first trench, and wherein the second thermal isolation structure is located in a second trench.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first thermal isolation structure comprises a low thermal conductivity material within the first trench.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the low thermal conductivity material has a thermal conductivity that is less than approximately 0.006 W/cm° C.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the low thermal conductivity material comprises an oxide doped with a material having a lower thermal conductivity than the oxide.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the low thermal conductivity material comprises silicon dioxide that has been doped with a dopant having a lower dielectric constant than the silicon dioxide.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the dopant comprises fluorine or carbon.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the low thermal conductivity material comprises porous silicon dioxide.

14. The method of claim 8 , wherein the low thermal conductivity material comprises spin-on silicon dioxide.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the temperature-sensitive photonic device comprises a carrier wave modulator.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the temperature-sensitive photonic device comprises a laser.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the trench and the thermal isolation structure form a shallow trench isolation region.

Assignees

• Micron Technology Inc

Inventors

• Meade Roy
• Sandhu Gurtej

Classifications

• H10H20/0365

  of means for heat extraction or cooling · CPC title

• H10H20/858 Primary

  Means for heat extraction or cooling · CPC title

• G02B6/12007 Primary

  forming wavelength selective elements, e.g. multiplexer, demultiplexer · CPC title

• G02B6/12

  of the integrated circuit kind (electric integrated circuits H10B, H10D84/00 - H10D89/00, H10F19/00, H10F39/00, H10H29/00, H10K19/00, H10K39/00, H10K59/00, H10N19/00, H10N39/00, H10N59/00, H10N69/00, H10N79/00, H10N89/00) · CPC title

• G02F1/3132

  of directional coupler type · CPC title