We propose germanium-rich silicon-germanium (SiGe) as a new platform for optical interconnects. The platform viability is experimentally and theoretically investigated through the realization of main building blocks of passive circuitry. Germanium-rich Si_1-xGe_x guiding layer on a graded SiGe layer is used to experimentally show 12μm radius bends by light confinement tuning at a wavelength of 1550nm. As a next step, Mach Zehnder interferometer with 10 dB extinction ratio is demonstrated. High Ge content of the proposed platform allows the coupling with Ge-based active devices, relying on a high quality epitaxial growth. Hence, the integration on Silicon of high speed and low power consumption Ge-rich active components is possible, despite the high lattice mismatch between silicon and germanium.

Date Published: 13 May 2016
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 9891, Silicon Photonics and Photonic Integrated Circuits V, 98910M (13 May 2016); doi: 10.1117/12.2228731

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9891:
Silicon Photonics and Photonic Integrated Circuits V
Laurent Vivien; Lorenzo Pavesi; Stefano Pelli, Editor(s)