Low-loss SiGe waveguides for mid-infrared photonics fabricated on 200 mm wafers
Victor Turpaud, Thi Hao Nhi Nguyen, Hamza Dely, Natnicha Koompai, Annabelle Bricout, Jean-Michel Hartmann, Nicolas Bernier, Julia Krawczyk, Gabriel Lima, Samson Edmond, Étienne Herth, Carlos Alonso‐Ramos, Laurent Vivien, Delphine Marris‐Morini
Abstract
This article presents low-loss mid-infrared waveguides fabricated on a Ge-rich SiGe strain-relaxed buffer grown on an industrial-scale 200 mm wafer, with propagation losses below 0.5 dB/cm for 5-7 µm wavelengths and below 5 dB/cm up to 11 µm. Investigation reveals free-carrier absorption as the primary loss factor for 5-6.5 µm and silicon multiphonon absorption beyond 7 µm wavelength. This result establishes a foundation for a scalable, silicon-compatible mid-infrared platform, enabling the realisation of photonic integrated circuits for various applications in the mid-infrared spectral region, from hazard detection to spectroscopy and military imaging.