Experimental analysis of silicon oxycarbide thin films and waveguides

Faisal Ahmed Memon; Francesco Morichetti; Claudio Somaschini; Giosue Iseni; Andrea Melloni

doi:10.1117/12.2265309

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17 May 2017 Experimental analysis of silicon oxycarbide thin films and waveguides

Faisal Ahmed Memon, Francesco Morichetti, Claudio Somaschini, Giosue Iseni, Andrea Melloni

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Proceedings Volume 10242, Integrated Optics: Physics and Simulations III; 1024212 (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2265309
Event: SPIE Optics + Optoelectronics, 2017, Prague, Czech Republic

Abstract

Silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) thin films are produced with reactive rf magnetron sputtering of a silicon carbide (SiC) target on Si (100) and SiO₂/Si substrates under varying deposition conditions. The optical properties of the deposited SiOC thin films are characterized with spectroscopic ellispometry at multiple angles of incidence over a wavelength range 300- 1600 nm. The derived optical constants of the SiOC films are modeled with Tauc-Lorentz model. The refractive index n of the SiOC films range from 1.45 to 1.85 @ 1550 nm and the extinction coefficient k is estimated to be less than 10^-4 in the near-infrared region above 1000 nm. The topography of SiOC films is studied with SEM and AFM giving rms roughness of 0.9 nm. Channel waveguides with a SiOC core with a refractive index of 1.7 have been fabricated to demonstrate the potential of sputtered SiOC for integrated photonics applications. Propagation loss as low as 0.39 ± 0.05 dB/mm for TE and 0.41 ± 0.05 dB/mm for TM polarizations at telecommunication wavelength 1550 nm is demonstrated.

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Faisal Ahmed Memon, Francesco Morichetti, Claudio Somaschini, Giosue Iseni, and Andrea Melloni "Experimental analysis of silicon oxycarbide thin films and waveguides", Proc. SPIE 10242, Integrated Optics: Physics and Simulations III, 1024212 (17 May 2017); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2265309

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