A photonic parallel memory with air-bridge interconnections for large scale integration

Surface passivation films for the photonic parallel memory (PPM) are studied, motivated by the fact that the dissipation current of the PPM is strongly influenced by the surface conditions. Several passivation films are investigated, and the PPM covered with the native oxide showed the lowest holding current. To utilize the native oxide as a passivation film, an air-bridge interconnection structure was fabricated with dry etching. It was found that some surface treatment is required after dry etching to obtain holding current comparable with that of the PPM formed with wet chemical etching and covered with native oxide.<>