Open AccessTri-layer silicon nitride-on-silicon photonic platform for ultra-low-loss crossings and interlayer transitions
Author(s) -
Wesley D. Sacher,
Jared C. Mikkelsen,
Patrick Dumais,
Jiaren Jiang,
Dominic Goodwill,
Xianshu Luo,
Ying Huang,
Yisu Yang,
Antoine Bois,
Patrick Lo,
Éric Bernier,
Joyce K. S. Poon
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.25.030862
Subject(s) - materials science , photonics , photonic integrated circuit , silicon , silicon nitride , optoelectronics , optics , wavelength , silicon photonics , electronic circuit , crosstalk , photonic crystal , layer (electronics) , nitride , nanotechnology , electrical engineering , physics , engineering
We present a three-layer silicon nitride on silicon platform for constructing very large photonic integrated circuits. Efficient interlayer transitions are enabled by the close spacing between adjacent layers, while ultra-low-loss crossings are enabled by the large spacing between the topmost and bottommost layers. We demonstrate interlayer taper transitions with losses < 0.15 dB for wavelengths spanning from 1480 nm to 1620 nm. Our overpass waveguide crossings exhibit insertion loss < 2.1 mdB and crosstalk below -56 dB in the wavelength range between 1480 nm and 1620 nm with losses as low as 0.28 mdB. Our platform architecture is suited to meet the demands of large-scale photonic circuits which contain hundreds of crossings.