ALIGNMENT OF SINGLE-MODE POLYMER WAVEGUIDE (PWG) ARRAY AND SILICON WAVEGUIDE (SiWG) ARRAY FOR PROVIDING ADIABATIC COUPLING
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorHidetoshi Numata
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Abstract
Alignment of a single-mode polymer waveguide (PWG) array fabricated on a polymer with a silicon waveguide (SiWG) array fabricated on a silicon (Si) chip and thereby realizing an adiabatic coupling. A stub and a groove are fabricated with high precision and made to function as the absolute positioning reference to provide a self-alignment according to the groove and the stub. In a PWG patterning by photolithography, plural masks are used, but the fabrication is made along the alignment base line for mask and thus a high precision is achieved with respect to error δx. In a PWG patterning by nano imprint, a high precision in the fabrication is also achieved with respect to error δx and δy.
Claims17
A combination of a stub fabricated on a polymer and a groove fabricated on a silicon (Si) chip, with which an adiabatic coupling is realized by aligning a single-mode polymer waveguide (PWG) array fabricated on the polymer with a silicon waveguide (SiWG) array fabricated on the silicon chip,
- wherein the stub fabricated on the polymer is fabricated along a direction in which the PWG array is fabricated,
- wherein the stub fabricated on the polymer is fabricated using a second mask arranged along the same alignment base line for a first mask used in a photolithography process for fabricating the PWG array and the second mask has an exposure pattern different from the first mask, and
- wherein the groove fabricated on the silicon chip is fabricated along a direction in which the SiWG array is fabricated.
A method of fabricating on a polymer a single-mode polymer waveguide (PWG) array and a stub so that the single-mode polymer waveguide (PWG) array and the stub are aligned with a silicon waveguide (SiWG) array fabricated on a silicon (Si) chip and a groove fabricated along a direction in which the SiWG is fabricated, whereby an adiabatic coupling is realized, the method comprising the steps of:
- coating a clad layer on the polymer;
- preparing a first mask along an alignment base line above a core layer and a under clad layer coated;
- fabricating a core array on the clad layer according to a photolithography process with the first mask, wherein the refractive index of a material of the core layer being larger than the refractive index of a material of the clad layer;
- coating a base layer used to fabricate the stub by use of a same type polymer material as that of the core array, so that the core array is covered by the base layer;
- preparing a second mask having an exposure pattern different from the first mask along the same alignment base line used in the preparation of the first mask;
- and
- fabricating the stub according to a photolithography process with the second mask.
12. A combination of a stub fabricated on a polymer and a groove fabricated on a silicon (Si) chip prepared by a method of fabricating on a polymer a single-mode polymer waveguide (PWG) array and a stub so that the single-mode polymer waveguide (PWG) array and the stub are aligned with a silicon waveguide (SiWG) array fabricated on a silicon (Si) chip and a groove fabricated along a direction in which the SiWG is fabricated, whereby an adiabatic coupling is realized, the method comprising the steps of:
- coating a clad layer on the polymer;
- preparing a first mask along an alignment base line above a core layer and a under clad layer coated;
- fabricating a core array on the clad layer according to a photolithography process with the first mask, wherein the refractive index of a material of the core layer being larger than the refractive index of a material of the clad layer;
- coating a base layer used to fabricate the stub by use of a same type polymer material as that of the core array, so that the core array is covered by the base layer;
- preparing a second mask having an exposure pattern different from the first mask along the same alignment base line used in the preparation of the first mask;
- and
- fabricating the stub according to a photolithography process with the second mask.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.