Sol-gel glass waveguide and grating on silicon

This paper reports on the fabrication and characterization of hybrid organic-inorganic glass sol-gel slab and channel waveguides by ultraviolet light imprinting in thin films deposited by a one-step dip-coating process. The adjustment of chemical composition of the materials provides precise selection of refractive index from 1.48 to 1.52 at the wavelength of 632.8 mn. The refractive index of the waveguides at 1.55 μm is similar to that of optical fiber, thus reducing the reflection loss between the two to less than 0.01 dB. The effect of ultraviolet light exposure and heat treatment on waveguide refractive index is studied. Fabrication parameters to produce ridge waveguides are optimized to achieve very smooth side walls. Propagation losses in these waveguides are ~0.1 dB/cm. Single mode buried waveguides, at 1.55 μm wavelength, with circular mode profile are demonstrated