›› 2015, Vol. 24 ›› Issue (4): 44101-044101.doi: 10.1088/1674-1056/24/4/044101

• ELECTROMAGNETISM, OPTICS, ACOUSTICS, HEAT TRANSFER, CLASSICAL MECHANICS, AND FLUID DYNAMICS • 上一篇    下一篇

Optimized design and fabrication of nanosecond response electro–optic switch based on ultraviolet-curable polymers

赵旭亮a b, 岳远斌a b, 刘通a b, 孙健a b, 王希斌a b c, 孙小强a b c, 陈长鸣a b c, 张大明a b c   

  1. a College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China;
    b State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China;
    c Jilin Provincial Engineering Laboratory on Polymer Planar Lightwave Circuit, Changchun 130012, China
  • 收稿日期:2014-08-11 修回日期:2014-09-15 出版日期:2015-04-05 发布日期:2015-04-05
  • 基金资助:
    Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61177027, 61107019, 61205032, and 61261130586).

Optimized design and fabrication of nanosecond response electro–optic switch based on ultraviolet-curable polymers

Zhao Xu-Liang (赵旭亮)a b, Yue Yuan-Bin (岳远斌)a b, Liu Tong (刘通)a b, Sun Jian (孙健)a b, Wang Xi-Bin (王希斌)a b c, Sun Xiao-Qiang (孙小强)a b c, Chen Chang-Ming (陈长鸣)a b c, Zhang Da-Ming (张大明)a b c   

  1. a College of Electronic Science and Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China;
    b State Key Laboratory on Integrated Optoelectronics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China;
    c Jilin Provincial Engineering Laboratory on Polymer Planar Lightwave Circuit, Changchun 130012, China
  • Received:2014-08-11 Revised:2014-09-15 Online:2015-04-05 Published:2015-04-05
  • Contact: Sun Xiao-Qiang E-mail:sunxq@jlu.edu.cn
  • Supported by:
    Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 61177027, 61107019, 61205032, and 61261130586).

摘要: A nanosecond response waveguide electro-optic (EO) switch based on ultraviolet (UV) sensitive polymers of Norland optical adhesive (NOA73) and Dispersed Red 1 (DR1) doped SU-8 (DR1/SU-8) is designed and fabricated. The absorption properties, refractive indexes, and surface morphologies of NOA73 film are characterized. The single-mode transmission condition is computed by the effective index method, and the percentage of optical field distributed in EO layer is optimized to be 93.78 %. By means of spin-coating, thermal evaporation, photolithography, and inductively coupled plasma etching, a Mach-Zehnder inverted-rib waveguide EO switch with micro-strip line electrode is fabricated on a silicon substrate. Scanning electron microscope characterization proves the physic-chemical compatibility between NOA73 cladding and DR1/SU-8 core material. The optical transmission loss of the fabricated switch is measured to be 2.5 dB/cm. The rise time and fall time of switching are 3.199 ns and 2.559 ns, respectively. These results indicate that the inverted-rib wave-guide based on UV-curable polymers can effectively reduce the optical transmission loss and improve the time response performance of an EO switch.

关键词: electro-optic switch, optical transmission loss, inverted-rib waveguide, poled polymers

Abstract: A nanosecond response waveguide electro-optic (EO) switch based on ultraviolet (UV) sensitive polymers of Norland optical adhesive (NOA73) and Dispersed Red 1 (DR1) doped SU-8 (DR1/SU-8) is designed and fabricated. The absorption properties, refractive indexes, and surface morphologies of NOA73 film are characterized. The single-mode transmission condition is computed by the effective index method, and the percentage of optical field distributed in EO layer is optimized to be 93.78 %. By means of spin-coating, thermal evaporation, photolithography, and inductively coupled plasma etching, a Mach-Zehnder inverted-rib waveguide EO switch with micro-strip line electrode is fabricated on a silicon substrate. Scanning electron microscope characterization proves the physic-chemical compatibility between NOA73 cladding and DR1/SU-8 core material. The optical transmission loss of the fabricated switch is measured to be 2.5 dB/cm. The rise time and fall time of switching are 3.199 ns and 2.559 ns, respectively. These results indicate that the inverted-rib wave-guide based on UV-curable polymers can effectively reduce the optical transmission loss and improve the time response performance of an EO switch.

Key words: electro-optic switch, optical transmission loss, inverted-rib waveguide, poled polymers

中图分类号:  (Applied classical electromagnetism)

  • 41.20.-q
42.25.-p (Wave optics) 42.65.-k (Nonlinear optics)