The thermo optic coefficient (TOC) of amorphous SiN thin films was determined by means of an alternative experimental approach. According to the method, it was possible to obtain the TOC of SiN at approximately 1510 nm and at 620 nm corresponding to the near-infrared (NIR) and visible (VIS) transmission windows typically observed in silica- and polymer-based optical fibers, respectively. The method relies on light transmission measurements of optical micro cavities (with SiN films as spacer layers) in the 83–873 K temperature range. Following this approach, the room-temperature TOC of SiN was found to be (4.7±0.1)×10-5 K-1 in the NIR and (6.2±0.1)×10-5 K-1 in the VIS regions.

Articles you may be interested inPhase shift multiplication effect of all-optical analog to electromagnetically induced transparency in two microcavities side coupled to a waveguide system At present, solid thin films are recognized by their well established and mature processing technology that is able to produce components which, depending on their main characteristics, can perform either passive or active functions. Additionally, Si-based materials in the form of thin films perfectly match the concept of miniaturized and low-consumption devices-as required in various modern technological applications. Part of these aspects was considered in the present work that was concerned with the study of optical micro-cavities entirely based on silicon and silicon nitride thin films. The structures were prepared by the sputtering deposition method which, due to the adopted conditions (atmosphere and deposition rate) and arrangement of layers, provided cavities operating either in the visible (at $670 nm) or in the near-infrared (at $1560 nm) wavelength ranges. The main differential of the work relies on the construction of optical microcavities with a reduced number of periods whose main properties can be changed by thermal annealing treatments. The work also discusses the angle-dependent behavior of the optical transmission profiles as well as the use of the COMSOL software package to simulate the microcavities. V C 2013 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.

This work reports on the construction and spectroscopic analyses of optical micro-cavities (OMCs) that efficiently emit at ~1535 nm. The emission wavelength matches the third transmission window of commercial optical fibers and the OMCs were entirely based on silicon. The sputtering deposition method was adopted in the preparation of the OMCs, which comprised two Bragg reflectors and one spacer layer made of either Er-or ErYb-doped amorphous silicon nitride. The luminescence signal extracted from the OMCs originated from the 4 I 13/2 → 4 I 15/2 transition (due to Er 3+ ions) and its intensity showed to be highly dependent on the presence of Yb 3+ ions. According to the results, the Er 3+ -related light emission was improved by a factor of 48 when combined with Yb 3+ ions and inserted in the spacer layer of the OMC. The results also showed the effectiveness of the present experimental approach in producing Si-based light-emitting structures in which the main characteristics are: (a) compatibility with the actual microelectronics industry, (b) the deposition of optical quality layers with accurate composition control, and (c) no need of uncommon elementscompounds nor extensive thermal treatments. Along with the fundamental characteristics of the OMCs, this work also discusses the impact of the Er 3+ −Yb3+ ion interaction on the emission intensity as well as the potential of the present findings.

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