Engineering Refractive Index Contrast in Thin Film Barium Titanate-on-Insulator.

Barium titanate-on-insulator has demonstrated excellent vertical optical confinement, low loss, and strong electro-optic properties. To fabricate a waveguide-based device, a region of higher refractive index must be created to confine a propagating mode, one way of which is through dry etching to form a ridge. However, despite recent progress achieved in etching barium titanate and similar materials, the sidewall and surface roughness resulting from the physical etching typically used limit the achievable ridge depth. This motivates the exploration of etch-free methods to achieve the required index contrast. Here, we introduce three etch-free methods to create a refractive index contrast in barium titanate-on-insulator, including a metal diffusion method, proton beam irradiation method, and crystallinity control method. Notably, molybdenum-diffused barium titanate leads to a large index change of up to 0.17. The methods provided in this work can be further developed to fabricate various on-chip barium titanate optical waveguide-based devices.

Design and fabrication of high-performance multimode interferometer in lithium niobate thin film.

We propose and demonstrate a type of high-performance transverse magnetic (TM) multimode interferometer (MMI) in Z-cut thin film lithium niobate (TFLN). Both 1 × 2 and 4 × 4 MMI designs are demonstrated. Simulation results show that the insertion losses (ILs) are nominally about 0.157 and 0.297 dB for the 1 × 2 and 4 × 4 MMI, respectively, with wide fabrication tolerances. Based on the designed structure, the MMIs are fabricated using an argon based induced coupled plasma (ICP) etching method in Z-cut TFLN. The measured ILs are 0.268 and 0.63 dB for these two kinds of devices. The presented TM mode MMI featuring compact size and low loss can be used for both multifunctional devices and on-chip integrated circuits on a Z-cut TFLN platform.

Slippery and Wear-Resistant Surfaces Enabled by Interface Engineered Graphene.

Friction and wear remain the primary cause of mechanical energy dissipation and system failure. Recent studies reveal graphene as a powerful solid lubricant to combat friction and wear. Most of these studies have focused on nanoscale tribology and have been limited to a few specific surfaces. Here, we uncover many unknown aspects of graphene's contact-sliding at micro- and macroscopic tribo-scales over a broader range of surfaces. We discover that graphene's performance reduces for surfaces with increasing roughness. To overcome this, we introduce a new type of graphene/silicon nitride (SiNx, 3 nm) bilayer overcoats that exhibit superior performance compared to native graphene sheets (mono and bilayer), that is, display the lowest microscale friction and wear on a range of tribologically poor flat surfaces. More importantly, two-layer graphene/SiNx bilayer lubricant (<4 nm in total thickness) shows the highest macroscale wear durability on tape-head (topologically variant surface) that exceeds most previous thicker (∼7-100 nm) overcoats. Detailed nanoscale characterization and atomistic simulations explain the origin of the reduced friction and wear arising from these nanoscale coatings. Overall, this study demonstrates that engineered graphene-based coatings can outperform conventional coatings in a number of technologies.

High pulsed power VCSEL arrays with polymer microlenses formed by photoacid diffusion.

We demonstrate millimeters-long VCSEL linear arrays with SU-8 epoxy-based microlenses that are directly patterned and cross-linked on the output apertures by a simple, photoacid-diffusion-aided photolithography technique. The linear arrays are capable of delivering >7 W of peak pulsed output power. By exploiting the photoacid diffusion effect, it is possible to produce a range of microlens structures with height and radius of curvature ranging from approximately ten to tens of microns. Simulation and experimental results show that the far-field beam divergence can be reduced by a factor of up to 7 in VCSELs integrated with optimal microlens dimensions.

Ultra-low loss ridge waveguides on lithium niobate via argon ion milling and gas clustered ion beam smoothening.

Lithium niobate's use in integrated optics is somewhat hampered by the lack of a capability to create low loss waveguides with strong lateral index confinement. Thin film single crystal lithium niobate is a promising platform for future applications in integrated optics due to the availability of a strong electro-optic effect in this material coupled with the possibility of strong vertical index confinement. However, sidewalls of etched waveguides are typically rough in most etching procedures, exacerbating propagation losses. In this paper, we propose a fabrication method that creates significantly smoother ridge waveguides. This involves argon ion milling and subsequent gas clustered ion beam smoothening. We have fabricated and characterized ultra-low loss waveguides with this technique, with propagation losses as low as 0.3 dB/cm at 1.55 µm.

Highly efficient tunable and localized on-chip electrical plasmon source using protruded metal-insulator-metal structure.

A compact and highly efficient tunable and localized source of propagating surface plasmon-polaritons is proposed based on a protruded metal-insulator-metal (pMIM) structure. The protrusion along a segment of the pMIM forms a nanometer gap and allows a low voltage bias to generate a localized tunneling current. The tunneling current excited plasmons can be fully coupled to the metal-insulator-metal (MIM) waveguiding segment of the pMIM without leakage and propagate a long distance as the gap in the MIM waveguiding segment is much larger than the gap in the protruded segment of the pMIM. Eigenmode and numerical analyses show that by using MIM structures as a benchmark, the pMIM structure enhances the total amount of average power that is transferred from the tunneling current into the excitation of intrinsic eigenmodes of the MIM waveguiding segment. Depending on the magnitude of the applied voltage bias, the pMIM structure supports single, dual and multi modes for a typical Au-SiO2-Au design with a 500 nm-thick SiO2. Among all excited modes, the single mode operation allows highly efficient excitation of long travelling surface plasmon-polaritons (SPPs) of up to 30 µm. The electrical excitation of SPPs using pMIM structures opens up the possibility of integrating plasmon sources into nanoscale optoelectronic circuits to facilitate on-chip data communications.

Periodic Two-Dimensional GaAs and InGaAs Quantum Rings Grown on GaAs (001) by Droplet Epitaxy.

Growth of ordered GaAs and InGaAs quantum rings (QRs) in a patterned SiO2 nanohole template by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) using droplet epitaxy (DE) process is demonstrated. DE is an MBE growth technique used to fabricate quantum nanostructures of high crystal quality by supplying group III and group V elements in separate phases. In this work, ordered QRs grown on an ordered nanohole template are compared to self-assembled QRs grown with the same DE technique without the nanohole template. This study allows us to understand and compare the surface kinetics of Ga and InGa droplets when a template is present. It is found that template-grown GaAs QRs form clustered rings which can be attributed to low mobility of Ga droplets resulting in multiple nucleation sites for QR formation when As is supplied. However, the case of template-grown InGaAs QRs only one ring is formed per nanohole; no clustering is observed. The outer QR diameter is a close match to the nanohole template diameter. This can be attributed to more mobile InGa droplets, which coalesce from an Ostwald ripening to form a single large droplet before As is supplied. Thus, well-patterned InGaAs QRs are demonstrated and the kinetics of their growth are better understood which could potentially lead to improvements in the future devices that require the unique properties of patterned QRs.

The Lissajous lens: a three-dimensional absolute optical instrument without spherical symmetry.

We propose a three dimensional optical instrument with an isotropic gradient index in which all ray trajectories form Lissajous curves. The lens represents the first absolute optical instrument discovered to exist without spherical symmetry (other than trivial cases such as the plane mirror or conformal maps of spherically-symmetric lenses). An important property of this lens is that a three-dimensional region of space can be imaged stigmatically with no aberrations, with a point and its image not necessarily lying on a straight line with the lens center as in all other absolute optical instruments. In addition, rays in the Lissajous lens are not confined to planes. The lens can optionally be designed such that no rays except those along coordinate axes form closed trajectories, and conformal maps of the Lissajous lens form a rich new class of optical instruments.

Physical mechanisms for tuning the nonlinear effects in photonic crystals.

By simultaneously taking field localization and slow light effects into account, in this paper we make use of a field averaging method to calculate the effective nonlinear refractive index coefficient (n2) of Kerr photonic crystals (PhCs) in the first band. Although the nonlinear PhC is beyond the traditional long-wavelength limit, interestingly, the theoretically calculated effective n2 agrees well with one numerically measured via the self-phase-modulation induced spectral broadening. Moreover, due to the cooperative influence of field localization and slow light effects, the effective n2 of the PhC decreases slowly at first and then goes up quickly with increasing frequency. This kind of dispersive nonlinearity is purely induced by the periodic nanostructures because the optical parameters of both components of the PhC we took are frequency-independent. Our results may pave the way for enhancing or limiting nonlinear effects and provide a method for producing the dispersive nonlinearity.

Characterization of C-apertures in a successful demonstration of heat-assisted magnetic recording.

An optical pump-probe setup was used to measure the coercivity change in a heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) medium. The incident optical power required to attain the Curie temperature of the medium was determined by calculating its coercivity from BH loops under different illuminating laser powers through use of the Kerr signal in the pump-probe setup. The HAMR medium was then illuminated through an array of square and C-shaped nanoapertures so that the necessary laser power required for magnetic reversal could be compared to the bulk case. Magnetic force microscopy and Kerr microscopy revealed that C-apertures were able to permit heating of the magnetic medium and lower the coercivity to achieve magnetic reversal whereas the square apertures were not. The results show that aperture shape and design play a large role in HAMR head designs.

Modeling and experimental investigations of Fano resonances in free-standing LiNbO3 photonic crystal slabs.

In this paper the Fano resonance in a free-standing LiNbO(3) photonic crystal slab is demonstrated. We present a numerical analysis and experimental measurements with free space illumination where the dependence of slab thickness, radius of air holes and lattice types are investigated. The unique property of polarization dependence for LiNbO(3) photonic crystal slabs is also analyzed, and we show that the transmission spectra exhibit significant sensitivity (~25nm) to polarization. A monolithic free-standing LiNbO(3) photonic crystal slab was fabricated using ion beam enhanced etching (IBEE) technology. Measurement results of the reflection spectra agree with the numerical analysis.

Design of curved photonic cavities for a narrow-band widely tunable resonance ranging 200 nm.

We propose a type of photonic resonator with a tunable curved cavity that enables efficient tuning of the optical length of a resonant cavity made of a solid material; we call this a "tunable curved resonator" (TCR). Its integration with a "tunable curved waveguide" (TCWG) and their actuation by a MEMS (micro electromechanical systems) electrostatic comb actuator are also designed for integrated photonic circuits. With this kind of structure, a widely and continuously tunable narrow-band resonance ranging up to 200 nm is achieved with a MEMS actuation voltage less than 70 V. Its applications in widely tunable photonic filters and lasers are promising.

Study of hybrid driven micromirrors for 3-D variable optical attenuator applications.

Aluminium-coated micromirrors driven by electrothermal and electromagnetic actuations have been demonstrated for 3-D variable optical attenuation applications. Three types of attenuation schemes based on electrothermal, electromagnetic and hybrid, i.e. combination of electrothermal and electromagnetic, actuations have been developed. In addition, two different designs have been fabricated and characterized to investigate the effects of the variations made to both the actuators on the optical attenuation performances of the micromirror. Our unique design of using both ET and EM actuators simultaneously to achieve attenuation is the first demonstration of such hybrid driven CMOS compatible MEMS VOA device.

Breakdown delay-based depletion mode silicon modulator with photonic hybrid-lattice resonator.

A compact silicon electro-optic modulator that operates in the breakdown delay based depletion mode is introduced. This operation mode has not previously been utilized for optical modulators, and represents a way to potentially achieve much higher modulation speeds and carrier extraction efficiencies without sacrificing energy efficiency, which is a critical criterion for realizing miniaturized sub-THz modulation components in silicon. Our study shows a speed of at least 238 GHz modulation is achievable along with an ultra-low energy consumption of 26.6 fJ/bit in a simple planar P+PNN+ diode example structure, which is embedded in a 2D hybrid photonic lattice mode gap resonator. The optical resonator itself is only 69 µm2 in footprint and is designed for optimized electro-optic sensitivity and conversion efficiency with reduced carrier scattering. Both the static and dynamic device performance are backed up by fully integrated 3D optical and 3D electrical numerical results. The compact device dimensions and low energy consumption are favorable to high density photonic integration.

Enhancement of optical transmission with random nanohole structures.

We demonstrate an enhancement of optical transmission by creating randomly distributed nanoholes in a glass surface using a simple bottom-up fabrication process. V-shaped holes with sub-100 nm diameter are created by anodized aluminum oxide template and dry etching on glass substrates. The broadband and omnidirectional antireflective effect of the proposed nanostructures is confirmed by measuring the transmittance of the patterned glasses, leading to 3% better transmission. Subsequently, the short-circuit current and the open-circuit voltage of a solar cell with nanostructures are enhanced by 3-4%, improving the solar cell efficiency from 10.47% to 11.20% after two weeks of outdoor testing.

A high speed electro-optic phase shifter based on a polymer-infiltrated P-S-N diode capacitor.

A polymer-infiltrated P-S-N diode capacitor configuration is proposed and a high speed electro-optic phase shifter based on a silicon organic hybrid platform is designed and modeled. The structure enables fast carrier depletion in addition to the second order nonlinearity so that a large electro-optic overlapped volume is achievable. Moreover, the device speed can be significantly improved with the introduction of free carriers due to a reduced experienced transient capacitance. The advantages of the diode capacitor structure are highly suitable for application to a class of low aspect ratio slot waveguides where the RC limitation of the radio frequency response is minimized. According to our numerical results, by optimizing both the waveguide geometry and polarization mode, at least 269 GHz 3-dB bandwidth with high efficiency of 5.5 V-cm is achievable. More importantly, the device does not rely on strong optical confinement within the nano-slot, a feature that gives considerable tolerance in the use of nano-fabrication techniques. Finally, the high overlap and energy efficiency of the device can be applied to slow light or optical resonance media for realizing photonic integrated circuits-based green photonics.

Design and fabrication of high-efficiency photonic crystal power beam splitters.

Efficient beam splitters in a planar photonic crystal waveguide with corrugated terminators were designed, fabricated, and characterized. Experimental results showed that these beam splitters have high splitting efficiency and power intensity in the propagation direction, an achievement made possible through a design method employing a genetic algorithm-based optimization method. High-efficiency power beam splitters are useful components in integrated optics, and the design implemented here is particularly suited for integration with other optical components.

Analysis of perovskite oxide etching using argon inductively coupled plasmas for photonics applications.

We analyzed the dry etching of perovskite oxides using argon-based inductively coupled plasmas (ICP) for photonics applications. Various chamber conditions and their effects on etching rates have been demonstrated based on Z-cut lithium niobate (LN). The measured results are predictable and repeatable and can be applied to other perovskite oxides, such as X-cut LN and barium titanium oxide (BTO). The surface roughness is better for both etched LN and BTO compared with their as-deposited counterparts as confirmed by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Both the energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) methods have been used for surface chemical component comparisons, qualitative and quantitative, and no obvious surface state changes are observed according to the measured results. An optical waveguide fabricated with the optimized argon-based ICP etching was measured to have -3.7 dB/cm loss near 1550 nm wavelength for Z-cut LN, which validates this kind of method for perovskite oxides etching in photonics applications.

A Barium Titanate-on-Oxide Insulator Optoelectronics Platform.

Electro-optic modulators are among the most important building blocks in optical communication networks. Lithium niobate, for example, has traditionally been widely used to fabricate high-speed optical modulators due to its large Pockels effect. Another material, barium titanate, nominally has a 50 times stronger r-parameter and would ordinarily be a more attractive material choice for such modulators or other applications. In practice, barium titanate thin films for optical waveguide devices are usually grown on magnesium oxide due to its low refractive index, allowing vertical mode confinement. However, the crystal quality is normally degraded. Here, a group of scandate-based substrates with small lattice mismatch and low refractive index compared to that of barium titanate is identified, thus concurrently satisfying high crystal quality and vertical optical mode confinement. This work provides a platform for nonlinear on-chip optoelectronics and can be promising for waveguide-based optical devices such as Mach-Zehnder modulators, wavelength division multiplexing, and quantum optics-on-chip.

Visualizing invisibility: metamaterials-based optical devices in natural environments.

Photorealistic ray tracing methods have been developed that allow us to see how devices such as imperfect invisible spheres and invisibility cloaks would appear if actually constructed and placed in outdoor environments. The methods developed allow photorealistic depiction of devices with gradient indices of refraction and birefringence or trirefringence in non-Cartesian coordinate systems (and hence accurately handle ray splitting/beam walkoff). The resulting images, which can be rendered in real time to produce animations as will be shown, allow subjective assessment of the performance of optical instruments such as invisibility devices in environments in which they are intended to ultimately be used.