A study of Silicon optical isolators using contact epitaxial technique

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26630166
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Electron device/Electronic equipment
• Research Institution: Kanagawa Institute of Technology
• Principal Investigator: Nakatsuhara Katsumi 神奈川工科大学, 工学部, 教授 (70339894)
• Research Collaborator: SAKAKIBARA Kentaro 神奈川工科大学, 工学研究科, 大学院生 ; SEIDO Masato 神奈川工科大学, 工学研究科, 大学院生 ; KANAKUBO Wataru 神奈川工科大学, 工学研究科, 大学院生 ; HAYAMA Yoshiki 神奈川工科大学, 工学研究科, 大学院生
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: 光アイソレータ / 磁気光学効果 / 異種材料 / 光導波路 / シリコンフォトニクス

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Isolators employing cladding layers of magneto-optic garnet films on silicon waveguides are very attractive for realizing optical integrated circuits. We investigate a waveguide optical isolator using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) with an upper cladding layer of a magneto-optic garnet film crystalized by using the contact epitaxial method which consists of contacting a seed crystal and heating the film process. As an elemental study, the evaluation method of propagation loss in a silicon waveguide loaded with an upper cladding layer of cerium substitution yttrium iron Garnett (Ce:YIG) film in an asymmetric MZI waveguide was proposed. After the contact epitaxial process, the reduction of the propagation loss in in silicon rib waveguides having the Ce:YIG upper cladding layer was obtained. High crystallinity and developing magneto-optical effect were also demonstrated with Ce:YIG films formed on the silicon layer by using the contact epitaxial technology.

Free Research Field

光エレクトロニクス