Efficient and compact thermo-optic phase shifter in silicon-rich silicon nitride

Abstract

The design, fabrication, and characterization of low loss ultra-compact bends in high index (n = 3.1 at {\lambda} = 1550 nm) PECVD silicon rich silicon nitride (SRN) is demonstrated and utilized to realize efficient, small footprint thermo-optic phase shifter. Compact bends are structured into a folded waveguide geometry to form a rectangular spiral within an area of 65 x 65 \mum2 possessing a total active waveguide length of 1.2 mm. The device features a phase shifting efficiency of 8 mW/{\pi} and a 3 dB switching bandwidth of 15 KHz. We propose SRN as a promising thermo-optic platform combining the properties of silicon and silicon stoichiometric nitride