High fidelity pattern transfer in InP photonic device fabrication

Abstract

The photonic industry is driven by the information ages demand for higher bandwidth. To meet the future demands of 10 Tbit networks, photonic integrated circuits (PIC) are required. Device performance is affected by everything from component coupling to electrical connectivity of the active components. However the most fundamental and often challenging aspect of photonic device fabrication is dimensional control. At 1550 nm, line width tolerance range between 1 pm to 0.05 pm.[1] Although these tolerances are easily achieved using lithography technology such as electron beam lithography (EBL) or 193 nm projection, neither are viable optical options for InP production.[2] The purpose of this thesis is to develop a fabrication process for InP Faraday rotators using standard, high throughput lithographic and etching techniques. The Faraday rotator is a 1.4 Jim InP-InGaAsP-InP waveguide with a line width tolerance of ± 0.07 pm.