Silicon-on-insulator optical rib waveguide circuits for fiber optic sensors

Optical rib waveguides have been formed in silicon-on-insulator structures. The effects of rib waveguide dimensions on mode and loss characteristics have been studied. Waveguides with dimensions compatible with single mode optical fibers have exhibited single mode behavior with low loss. The compatibility of these silicon-on-insulator waveguide structures with optical fibers, combined with the ability to form active optical modulators in silicon based on free carrier injection/depletion is encouraging for the future use of silicon guided optics in fiber optical and integrated optical sensors. The use of SOI active waveguide circuits for closed loop AC dither fringe detection in interferometric sensors is a possible application area.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.