SBIR Phase I: Innovative Integrated Optical Circuit Fabrication and Processing Techniques

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目是开发一种使用替代波导材料（awm）制造集成光电路（IOCs）的方法。目前，IOCs由硅玻璃波导组成，并使用昂贵的多步骤光刻工艺与高温沉积技术相结合进行图像化。然而，awm与较低的玻璃化转变温度有关，并且具有通过替代印刷方法绘制光学电路的潜力，绕过光刻工艺。这将大大降低光子器件制造的复杂性和成本。awm的另一个重要优点是更低的最小衰减水平，可能比硅玻璃低一到两个数量级。这对于长波导应用至关重要，例如电信集成光延迟线，集成光学陀螺仪和更敏感的化学传感器。此外，由于一些替代材料可以容纳稀土元素，awm的发展进一步应用于改进的光开关，放大器和固态蓝色激光器。该项目将建立由awm组成的光学电路的可行性。光波导电路的改进制造对于集成光放大器、无损分路器和上转换蓝色光纤激光器具有直接的潜力，这对于光存储、彩色印刷和投影、上转换器、隔离器和荧光冷却器以及实验室中方便、低成本的固态激光源等众多商业应用至关重要。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project is to develop a method of fabricating integrated optical circuits (IOCs) using alternate waveguide materials (AWMs). Currently, IOCs comprise silica glass waveguides, and are patterned using an expensive, multi-step photolithography process in conjunction with high temperature deposition techniques. However, AWMs are associated with lower glass transition temperatures, and have the potential of patterning optical circuits through alternate printing methods, bypassing the photolithography process. This will dramatically reduce the complexity and hence the cost of photonic device manufacture. Another important advantage of AWMs is lower minimum attenuation levels, possibly one to two orders of magnitude lower than that of silica glass. This is critical for long waveguide applications such as integrated optic delay lines for telecommunications, integrated optic gyroscopes, and more sensitive chemical sensors. In addition, because some alternate materials can host rare earth elements, the development of AWMs has further applications for improved optical switches, amplifiers, and solid-state blue lasers. This project will establish the feasibility of fabricating optical circuits comprising AWMs. Improved fabrication of optical waveguide circuits has the immediate potential forintegrated optic amplifiers, lossless splitters, and up conversion blue fiber lasers, essential to numerous commercial applications in optical storage, color printing, and projection, up converters, isolators and fluorescent coolers, as well as convenient, low-cost solid-state laser sources for the laboratory.