Si3N4 photonic integrated circuits have gain significant and rapid interest in different photonic applications thanks to its superior passive performance. Nevertheless, optical integration between Si3N4 and Ge-based optical components remains critically challenging especially for optical modulation. In this paper, via 3D-FDTD calculations we investigate the optical integration between Si3N4 and Ge-based waveguides using vertical coupling configuration employing amorphous Si (α-Si) as an optical bridge showing efficient and robust coupling efficiency, which can be maintained according to the tolerant analysis with respect to the variations in optical wavelengths and critical parameters of the coupling structure. In addition, with respect to the recent theoretically-optimized SOI waveguide-integrated Ge-based optical modulators, we found that the studied coupling structure could be employed to enable a low-voltage Si3N4 waveguide-integrated Gebased optical modulator with a competitive extinction ratio/insertion loss performance, increasing the prospect of Si3N4-based photonic integrated circuits for low-energy optical interconnects.
This paper aims to investigate the potential of a direct integration between Si3N4 waveguides and Germanium(Ge)-based structures, which are considered two of the most promising silicon(Si)-compatible materials for passive and active functions for Si-based energy-efficient photonics, respectively. This paper focuses on investigating the vertical coupling scheme between these materials employing a tapered structure of the Ge-based layer using 2D FDE and 3D FDTD simulations, to match the optical mode from a passive Si3N4 waveguide to the Ge-based layer and vice versa. The expected optical coupling performance will be reported, and its dependence on the unavoidable fabrication variation in the coupling region will be also investigated. Additionally, the coupling performance of the vertical coupling approach compared to the previous investigation between a Si waveguide and a Ge layer will be addressed.
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