PLANAR, LOW-LOSS OPTICAL WAVE-GUIDES FABRICATED BY SOLID-PHASE REGROWTH

Planar, low-loss AlGaAs/GaAs waveguides have been fabricated using the solid-phase regrowth (SPR) process. Single-mode waveguide with a propagation loss as low as 1.6 dB/cm have been obtained. This process requires only thin-film deposition and low-temperature short-duration annealing (i.e., 650-degrees-C for 30 s), thus making the SPR method a much simplified technique to induce compositional disordering. Simultaneous electrical isolation and compositional disordering are also demonstrated with the SPR process.