Integrated optics based on plasma processed dielectric materials

A first generation of dielectric rib waveguides has been designed and shaped to support a monomode confinement by using organosilicon materials elaborated by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Optical losses have been measured around 5.5dB.cm -1 and 11.5dB.cm -1 for TE 00 and TM 00 modes, respectively. Then, synthesis of titanium dioxide thin films by PECVD has been investigated to improve optical and propagation properties. The first results on these films exhibit a refractive index around 1.99 at a 633 nm wavelength with a 380 nm optical gap. When an rf bias is applied to the substrate, the refractive index reaches 2.36, from -5V, without significant optical gap variation.