Laser annealing of SiO<sub>2</sub> film deposited by ICPECVD for fabrication of silicon based low loss waveguide

doi:10.1007/s12200-016-0616-1

Front. Optoelectron.

2016, Vol. 9

Issue (2) : 323-329 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12200-016-0616-1

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Laser annealing of SiO₂ film deposited by ICPECVD for fabrication of silicon based low loss waveguide

Ya’nan WANG,Yi LUO(

),Changzheng SUN,Bing XIONG,Jian WANG,Zhibiao HAO,Yanjun HAN,Lai WANG,Hongtao LI

Tsinghua National Laboratory for Information Science and Technology/State Key Lab of Integrated Optoelectronics, Department of Electronic Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

Download: PDF(2609 KB) HTML
Export: BibTeX | EndNote | Reference Manager | ProCite | RefWorks

Abstract

Laser annealing of silicon dioxide (SiO₂) film formed by inductively coupled plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (ICPECVD) is studied for the fabrication of low loss silicon based waveguide. The influence of laser annealing on ICPECVD-deposited SiO₂ film is investigated. The surface roughness, refractive index, and etch rate of annealed samples are compared with those of SiO₂ film obtained by thermal oxidation. It is demonstrated that the performance of ICPECVD-deposited SiO₂ film can be significantly improved by laser annealing. Al₂O₃/SiO₂ waveguide has been fabricated on silicon substrate with the SiO₂ lower cladding formed by ICPECVD and laser annealing process, and its propagation loss is found to be comparable with that of the waveguide with thermally oxidized lower cladding.

Keywords laser annealing waveguide loss silicon dioxide inductively coupled plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (ICPECVD)

Corresponding Author(s): Yi LUO

Just Accepted Date: 25 February 2016 Online First Date: 28 March 2016 Issue Date: 05 April 2016

Cite this article:

Ya’nan WANG,Yi LUO,Changzheng SUN, et al. Laser annealing of SiO₂ film deposited by ICPECVD for fabrication of silicon based low loss waveguide[J]. Front. Optoelectron., 2016, 9(2): 323-329.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/foe/EN/10.1007/s12200-016-0616-1
https://academic.hep.com.cn/foe/EN/Y2016/V9/I2/323

Fig.1 Refractive index and thickness of the ICPECVD-SiO₂ film vs. annealing laser power

Fig.2 Etch rates of SiO₂ samples by SF₆ plasma

Fig.3 Etch rate of SiO₂ samples in buffered HF

Fig.4 SEM images of SiO₂ samples before and after dry etching with SF₆ plasma or wet etching in buffered HF

Fig.5 Cross section SEM images of (a) as-deposited and annealed samples with (b) 12 W, (c) 13 W, and (d) 14 W laser power

Fig.6 AFM images of sample surfaces before and after dry etch in SF₆ plasma and wet etching in buffered HF

Fig.7 RMS surface roughness of the samples (a) before etching, (b) after SF₆ dry etch, (c) after wet etching in buffered HF

Tab.1 Correlation between the lower cladding and propagation loss

1	Bhatt V, Chandra S. Silicon dioxide films by RF sputtering for microelectronic and MEMS applications. Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering, 2007, 17(5): 1066–1077 https://doi.org/10.1088/0960-1317/17/5/029
2	Zheleva T, Lelis A, Duscher G, Liu F, Levin I, Das M. Transition layers at the SiO2/SiC interface. Applied Physics Letters, 2008, 93(2): 022108-022108–3 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2949081
3	Kawachi M. Silica waveguides on silicon and their application to integrated-optic components. Optical and Quantum Electronics, 1990, 22(5): 391–416 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02113964
4	Bauters J F, Heck M J R, John D, Dai D, Tien M C, Barton J S, Leinse A, Heideman R G, Blumenthal D J, Bowers J E. Ultra-low-loss high-aspect-ratio Si3N4 waveguides. Optics Express, 2011, 19(4): 3163–3174 https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.19.003163 pmid: 21369138
5	Ghandhi S. VLSI Fabrication Principles Silicon and Gallium Arsenide. New York: J. Wiley and Sons, 1994, 452–482
6	Gherardi N, Martin S, Massines F. A new approach to SiO2 deposit using a N2-SiH4-N2O glow dielectric barrier-controlled discharge at atmospheric pressure. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, 2000, 33(19): L104–L108 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/33/19/102
7	Santamaria J, Iborra E, Quesada F S, Diaz G G, Vidal M R. Sputtering of SiO2 in O2-Ar atmospheres. Thin Solid Films, 1986, 139(2): 201–208 https://doi.org/10.1016/0040-6090(86)90338-X
8	Duran A, Serna C, Fornes V, Navarro J M F. Structural considerations about SiO2 glasses prepared by sol-gel. Journal of Non-Crystalline Solids, 1986, 82(1-3): 69–77 https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-3093(86)90112-2
9	Zúñiga-Segundo A, Ruiz F, Vázquez-López C, González-Hernández J, Torres-Delgado G, Tsu D V. Characterization of SiO2 layers on Si wafers using atomic force microscopy. Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology, 1994, 12(4): 2572–2576 https://doi.org/10.1116/1.579059
10	Chen X Y, Lu Y F, Tang L J, Wu Y H, Cho B J, Xu X J, Dong J R, Song W D. Annealing and oxidation of silicon oxide films prepared by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Journal of Applied Physics, 2005, 97(1): 014913 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1829789
11	Ay F, Aydinli A. Comparative investigation of hydrogen bonding in silicon based PECVD grown dielectrics for optical waveguides. Optical Materials, 2004, 26(1): 33–46 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.optmat.2003.12.004
12	Boogaard A, Kovalgin A Y, Brunets I, Aarnink A A I, Holleman J, Wolters R A M, Schmitz J. Characterization of SiO2 films deposited at low temperature by means of remote ICPECVD. Surface and Coatings Technology, 2007, 201(22-23): 8976–8980 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2007.04.039
13	Bauters J F, Heck M J R, John D D, Barton J S, Bruinink C M, Leinse A, Heideman R G, Blumenthal D J, Bowers J E. Planar waveguides with less than 0.1 dB/m propagation loss fabricated with wafer bonding. Optics Express, 2011, 19(24): 24090–24101 https://doi.org/10.1364/OE.19.024090 pmid: 22109434
14	Armani D K, Kippenberg T J, Spillane S M, Vahala K J. Ultra-high-Q toroid microcavity on a chip. Nature, 2003, 421(6926): 925–928 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01371 pmid: 12606995

Viewed

Full text

Abstract

Cited

Shared

Discussed