Abstract

The focus of this work is the development of hollow core Anti-Resonant Reflecting Optical Waveguides (ARROWs) fabricated in a membrane covered trench. This technique is a new approach at building more efficient hollow core waveguides for integration into various platforms that involve liquid or gases. These structures are built on silicon wafers using standard microfabrication techniques, including plasma etching to form trenches. Four waveguide designs are demonstrated, which have different numbers of thin film reflecting layers. Research and manufacturing were conducted in BYU's Integrated Microelectronic Laboratory (IML). A brief history of past work at BYU on hollow core ARROW devices is discussed before a more in-depth discussion is given on the membrane covered trench design. In this discussion of this new design, chapters are devoted to the device design, fabrication process, optical characterization, and a comparison of all four designs. From the four designs that were built, optical loss is shown to decrease as additional reflecting layers are added. Loss coefficients as low as 1 cm-1 were reported, which are the lowest ever built at BYU.

Degree

College and Department

Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering; Electrical and Computer Engineering

Rights

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