Abstract

This paper presents a method for the fabrication and integration of a thin LiNbO₃ substrate with a Si handle wafer. An inverted ridge structure guides a single optical mode in an electro-optic modulator fabricated on a mechanically thinned substrate. To define an optical waveguide, a ridge structure is first patterned on a 500 µm thick X-cut LiNbO₃ wafer, then a low dielectric constant adhesive layer is used to bond the etched LiNbO₃ to Si. The LiNbO₃ is mechanically thinned to 4 µm, and planar electrodes are patterned. Experimental results demonstrating modulation with a V_πL of 7.1 V-cm were shown, optical loss was low enough and film quality high enough to enable an interaction length of 0.8 cm.

© 2016 Optical Society of America