Radio-frequency loss reduction in photonic circuits

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9804475-B1
Application number	US-201615130156-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Apr 15, 2016
Priority date	Apr 16, 2015
Publication date	Oct 31, 2017
Grant date	Oct 31, 2017

Abstract

In photonic integrated circuits implemented in silicon-on-insulator substrates, non-conductive channels formed, in accordance with various embodiments, in the silicon device layer and/or the silicon handle of the substrate in regions underneath radio-frequency transmission lines of photonic devices can provide breaks in parasitic conductive layers of the substrate, thereby reducing radio-frequency substrate losses.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A photonic integrated circuit (PIC) comprising:
a silicon-on-insulator substrate comprising a silicon handle, a buried oxide layer disposed on top of the silicon handle, a silicon device layer disposed on top of the buried oxide layer, and a cladding layer disposed on top of the silicon device layer;
a first photonic device comprising a device structure made of a material embedded within the cladding layer and a transmission line having two or more electrodes disposed on top of the cladding layer, the two or more electrodes defining one or more gaps between the electrodes;
one or more second photonic devices formed partially within at least one of the silicon device layer or the cladding layer; and
formed within at least one of the silicon handle or the silicon device layer in a region underneath the transmission line, one or more nonconductive channels each laterally overlapping with one of the one or more gaps and not extending beyond outer edges of the electrodes defining the respective gap.

2. The PIC of claim 1 , wherein the first photonic device is a Mach-Zehnder modulator comprising two waveguide interferometer arms formed of the material.

3. The PIC of claim 1 , wherein the one or more channels underneath the one or more gaps do not laterally overlap with the electrodes defining the respective gaps.

4. The PIC of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the nonconductive channels is formed within the silicon device layer.

5. The PIC of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the nonconductive channels is formed within the silicon handle.

Assignees

• Parker John
• Fish Gregory Alan
• Koch Brian R
• Aurrion Inc

Inventors

• Parker John
• Fish Gregory Alan
• Koch Brian R

Classifications

• G02F1/2257

  the optical waveguides being made of semiconducting material · CPC title

• G02F1/2255 Primary

  controlled by a high-frequency electromagnetic component in an electric waveguide structure · CPC title

• H01L31/184

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H01L27/14625

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H10F71/127

  The active layers comprising only Group III-V materials, e.g. GaAs or InP · CPC title