Digital deterministic control of slow light in photonic crystal waveguide membranes through atomic layer deposition

Abstract

We present for the first time digital and deterministic control of slow-light in photonic crystal silicon membranes through atomic layer deposition. Supported by ab initio calculations and our earlier advancements, the tuning of the slow group indices and higher-order dispersion characteristics are observed in the chip-scale Mach-Zehnder interferometers, along with control of the surface-state coupling. This deterministic control is a CMOS process that unambiguously tunes the slow-light dispersion for ultrahigh-bandwidth delay lines and nonlinear nanophotonics. © 2009 Optical Society of America.