Characterization of Si3N4/SiO2 planar lightwave circuits and ring resonators

The large refractive index contrast between silicon nitride and silicon dioxide allows silicon nitride/dioxide planar waveguides to have a small mode size and low radiation bending loss compared with doped silicon dioxide waveguides. Small waveguide bend with low radiation loss can help make small integrated planar lightwave circuits (PLCs), and also high-Q waveguide ring resonators. This presentation will talk about the design, fabrication and characterization of low loss silicon nitride/dioxide planar waveguide devices including waveguide bend, waveguide cross, and leaky mode waveguide polarizer. The key contribution of this work is the use of the lateral mode interference (LMI) 3dB splitter to accurately measure the loss of the planar lightwave circuit devices. We will also talk about the waveguide ring resonators with silicon nitride/dioxide materials. The application for photonic biochemical sensors will also be discussed.