Optical Waveguides on Three Material Platforms of Silicon-on-Insulator, Amorphous Silicon and Silicon Nitride

Optical waveguides on three material platforms of silicon-on-insulator (SOI), amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and silicon nitride are analyzed for realization of an optical compact link compatible with CMOS technology. The three material properties are presented. The optical components on the three potential material platforms are put together for a comparison, in which, straight, bent waveguides, and multimode-interference beam splitters for an optical link are designed, fabricated, and measured. The comparison results of simulation and measurement show that a-Si:H has a similar performances with SOI material but lower cost and good feasibility of photonic integration on silicon.