Silicon Nitride-based Integrated Photonic Devices Suitable for Operating in the Visible to Infrared Wavelength Range

Silicon nitride (SiNx) films were deposited at low temperature (75 °C) using inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition (ICP-CVD) system, which yields high-quality films with controllable low total stress and a hydrogen content less than 10 at.%. As an example for demonstrating SiNx material suitable for photonic applications in the visible to infrared wavelength range, optical transmission spectra of distributed Bragg reflectors (DBR) with 12-period SiNx/silicon dioxide (SiO2) multilayer films are studied. SiNx-based integrated photonic devices such as Archimedean spiral waveguides, microdisks, ring resonators, and photonic crystal nanocavities have also been demonstrated.