Photonic crystal multilayer substrate and manufacturing method thereof

• US 20020004307A1
• Filed: 06/28/2001
• Published: 01/10/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 07/05/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Yamada, Hirohito
• Granted Patent: US 6,416,575 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 438/691
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 20/00 Nanooptics, e.g. quantum optics or photonic crystals
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/1225 comprising photonic band-gap structures or photonic lattices
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/42 Coupling light guides with opto-electronic elements

Abstract

A lightwave circuit, by which the degree of integration can be further improved by employing a multilayered structure of wiring, is disclosed. The disclosed photonic crystal multilayer substrate has portions, each portion having a slab-waveguide type photonic crystal structure, multilayered in the direction of the thickness of the substrate. In the photonic crystal structure, a photonic crystal layer is disposed between cladding layers; the photonic crystal layer is made of a photonic crystal having a two or three dimensional periodically modulated structure with respect to the effective refractive index in the order of optical wavelengths; and each cladding layer is made of a material whose effective refractive index differs from the effective refractive index of the photonic crystal layer.

Claims

1. A photonic crystal multilayer substrate having portions, each portion having a slab-waveguide type photonic crystal structure, multilayered in the direction of the thickness of the substrate, wherein in the slab-waveguide type photonic crystal structure:

a photonic crystal layer is disposed between cladding layers;

the photonic crystal layer is made of a photonic crystal having a two or three dimensional periodically modulated structure with respect to the effective refractive index in the order of optical wavelengths; and

each cladding layer is made of a material whose effective refractive index differs from the effective refractive index of the photonic crystal layer.

2. A photonic crystal multilayer substrate as claimed in claim 1, wherein the effective refractive index of the material of each cladding layer is smaller than an effective refractive index of the photonic crystal layer.

3. A photonic crystal multilayer substrate as claimed in claim 2, wherein a multilayered lightwave circuit is formed by forming optical devices in the photonic crystal layers.

4. A photonic crystal multilayer substrate as claimed in claim 1, wherein each cladding layer has a multilayered film in which two or more kinds of materials having different effective refractive indexes are alternately layered.

5. A photonic crystal multilayer substrate as claimed in claim 1, wherein each cladding layer is made of a photonic crystal having a two or three dimensional periodically modulated structure with respect to the effective refractive index.

6. A photonic crystal multilayer substrate as claimed in claim 4, wherein the multilayered film for forming the cladding layer has optical reflective characteristics in which the reflectance with respect to a lightwave having a specific wavelength is larger than the reflectance with respect to other lightwaves.

7. A photonic crystal multilayer substrate as claimed in claim 5, wherein the photonic crystal for forming the cladding layer has optical reflective characteristics in which the reflectance with respect to a lightwave having a specific wavelength is larger than the reflectance with respect to other lightwaves.

8. A photonic crystal multilayer substrate as claimed in claim 6, wherein in the optical reflective characteristics of the multilayered film, the reflectance with respect to a lightwave introduced into an optical device formed in the multilayer substrate is larger than the reflectance with respect to other lightwaves.

9. A photonic crystal multilayer substrate as claimed in claim 7, wherein in the optical reflective characteristics of the photonic crystal, the reflectance with respect to a lightwave introduced into an optical device formed in the multilayer substrate is larger than the reflectance with respect to other lightwaves.

10. A photonic crystal multilayer substrate as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 9, including:

a base layer on which the portions having the slab-waveguide type photonic crystal structure are formed;

optical devices formed in at least two layers among the base layer and the photonic crystal layers; and

a mechanism for transmitting and receiving an optical signal between the optical devices of each layer.

11. A photonic crystal multilayer substrate as claimed in claim 10, wherein:

an optical device is formed in one of the base layer and the photonic crystal layers, and an optical waveguide is formed in the circuit plane of the optical device; and

the mechanism for transmitting and receiving an optical signal between the optical devices is a mode converter for converting a lightwave in a manner such that a lightwave, which is transmitted along the optical waveguide, is radiated in the direction significantly perpendicular to the circuit plane, or a lightwave incident on the circuit plane in the direction significantly perpendicular to the circuit plane is transmitted along the optical waveguide.

12. A photonic crystal multilayer substrate as claimed in claim 11, wherein the mode converter has an optical resonance mechanism, formed at an end portion of the optical waveguide in the circuit plane of the optical device, by which resonance for a lightwave with a certain wavelength transmitted through the optical waveguide occurs, and the lightwave transmitted through the optical waveguide is radiated in the direction significantly perpendicular to the circuit plane.

13. A photonic crystal multilayer substrate as claimed in claim 12, wherein the optical resonance mechanism has a hole having a shape and a size by which resonance with a lightwave transmitted through the optical waveguide occurs, and a resonant portion which surrounds the hole.

14. A photonic crystal multilayer substrate as claimed in claim 10, wherein:

an optical device is formed in one of the base layer and the photonic crystal layers, and a first optical waveguide is formed in the circuit plane of the optical device;

a second optical waveguide is formed in one of the remaining base layer and photonic crystal layers and the second optical waveguide is close to an end portion of the first optical waveguide; and

the mechanism for transmitting and receiving an optical signal between the optical devices inputs a lightwave from the first optical waveguide to the second optical waveguide, and is a mode converter for converting a lightwave in a manner such that a lightwave, which is transmitted along the first optical waveguide, leaks at the end portion of the first optical waveguide, and the leaked lightwave is input into the second optical waveguide.

15. A photonic crystal multilayer substrate as claimed in claim 14, wherein the mode converter includes the end portion of the first optical waveguide and the second optical waveguide, where the end portion has a tapered shape in which the thickness gradually decreases towards a head point.

16. A method of manufacturing a photonic crystal multilayer substrate, comprising the steps of:

forming a cladding layer on a first substrate;

forming a photonic crystal layer on the cladding layer, where the photonic crystal layer is used for forming a lightwave circuit;

producing a first wafer by forming a lightwave circuit in the photonic crystal layer, where the lightwave circuit is assigned to a first layer of the photonic crystal multilayer substrate;

producing a second wafer by forming a cladding layer on a second substrate and forming a photonic crystal layer on this cladding layer;

producing a composite wafer by putting the first and second wafers together in a manner such that the photonic crystal layer of the first wafer adheres with the cladding layer of the second wafer;

removing the substrate portion of the second wafer from the composite wafer;

forming a lightwave circuit in the photonic crystal layer which is exposed after the removal of the substrate portion of the second wafer, where this lightwave circuit is assigned to a second layer of the photonic crystal multilayer substrate; and

forming a multilayered lightwave circuit in the photonic crystal layers by repeating the above steps.