Epitaxial growth for waveguide tapering
AssigneeIntel Corporation
InventorMichael T. Morse
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method to form a semiconductor taper without etching the taper surfaces. In one embodiment,a semiconductor waveguide is formed on a workpiece having an unwatched top surface; e.g., using a silicone on insulator (SOI) wafer. A protective layer is formed on the waveguide. The protective layer is patterned and etched to form a mask that exposes a potion of the waveguide in the shape of the taper's footprint. In one embodiment, selective silicone epitaxy is used to grow the taper on the exposed portion of the waveguide so that the taper is formed without etched surfaces. Micro-loading effects can cause the upper surface of the taper to slope toward the termination end of the taper.
Claims24
A method for fabricating a taper, comprising:
- disposing a semiconductor waveguide on a substrate;
- forming a protective layer on the semiconductor waveguide;
- removing a portion of the protective layer to expose a portion of the semiconductor waveguide, the exposed portion of the semiconductor waveguide defining a footprint of the taper;
- and
- forming a semiconductor layer on the exposed portion of the semiconductor waveguide to form the taper, the taper having a termination end and a longitudinal axis, wherein the termination end has at least one unetched surface that is angled relative to the longitudinal axis.
An apparatus for propagating an optical signal, the apparatus comprising:
- a semiconductor waveguide;
- a first insulating layer disposed on at least a first surface of the semiconductor waveguide;
- a second insulating layer disposed on at least a second surface of the semiconductor waveguide;
- and p1 a semiconductor taper disposed on a portion of the second surface of the semiconductor waveguide, the semiconductor taper having a termination end and a longitudinal axis, wherein the termination end has at least one unetched surface that is angled relative to the longitudinal axis.
An integrated circuit comprising:
- p1 a semiconductor waveguide;
- p1 a first insulating layer disposed on at least a first surface of the semiconductor waveguide;
- p1 a second insulating layer disposed on at least a second surface of the semiconductor waveguide;
- p1 a semiconductor taper disposed on a portion of the second surface of the semiconductor waveguide, the semiconductor taper having a longitudinal axis, a termination end and a wide end, the termination end having an unetched surface that is angled relative to the longitudinal axis, and the wide end to be coupled to an optical fiber;
- and
- a protective layer formed to cover at least a portion of the semiconductor layer.
A system comprising:
- an optical signal source;
- an optical fiber, coupled to the optical signal source, to propagate an optical signal;
- and
- an integrated circuit that includes:
- a semiconductor waveguide;
- a first cladding layer disposed on at least a first surface of the semiconductor waveguide;
- a second cladding layer disposed on at least a second surface of the semiconductor waveguide;
- and
- a semiconductor taper disposed on a portion of the second surface of the semiconductor waveguide, the semiconductor taper having a longitudinal axis, a termination end and a wide end, the termination end having an unetched surface that is angled relative to the longitudinal axis, and the wide end coupled to the optical fiber.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.