Optical connectivity has the potential to outperform copper-based TSVs in terms of bandwidth at the cost of more complexity due to the required electro-optical and opto-electrical conversion. The continuously increasing demand for higher bandwidth pushes the breakeven point for a profitable operation to shorter distances. To integrate an optical communication network in a 3D-chip-stack optical through-silicon vertical VIAs (TSV) are required. While the necessary effort for the electrical/optical and vice versa conversion makes it hard to envision an on-chip optical interconnect, a chip-to-chip optical link appears practicable. In general, the interposer offers the potential advantage to realize electro-optical transceivers on affordable expense by specific, but not necessarily CMOS technology. We investigated the realization and characterization of optical interconnects as a polymer based waveguide in high aspect ratio (HAR) TSVs proved on waferlevel. To guide the optical field inside a TSV as optical-waveguide or fiber, its core has to have a higher refractive index than the surrounding material. Comparing different material / technology options it turned out that thermal grown silicon dioxide (SiO2) is a perfect candidate for the cladding (nSiO2 = 1.4525 at 850 nm). In combination with SiO2 as the adjacent polymer layer, the negative resist SU-8 is very well suited as waveguide material (nSU-8 = 1.56) for the core. Here, we present the fabrication of an optical polymer based multimode waveguide in TSVs proved on waferlevel using SU-8 as core and SiO2 as cladding. The process resulted in a defect-free filling of waveguide TSVs with SU-8 core and SiO2 cladding up to aspect ratio (AR) 20:1 and losses less than 3 dB.

This thesis presents studies on III-V semiconductor waveguides with particular emphasis on second-order optical nonlinearity. The nonlinear processes that were investigated in this thesis are the Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) and the Spontaneous Parametric Down-Conversion (SPDC). The optical waveguides are made of InGaP and the waveguide design includes tapered parts for in- and out-coupling of guided light. Simulation of light propagation and modal solutions were done using Lumerical MODE, FDTD, and COMSOL Multiphysics software. The in- and outcoupling for the design of tapered waveguide that utilize the bulk non-linearity is 65 % when the waveguide is 145 nm thick and 2.60 μm wide having PMMA as top cladding. The SHG conversion efficiency for this configuration when the waveguide length is 2 μm long, is found 31 %/W. Three cases of the utilization of the surface non-linearity are proposed too. Preliminary steps toward the fabrication of the waveguide structures are also reported. The particular mesa-isolated substrates are fabricated having a side wall with a negative angle profile that result to a significant undercut. InGaP waveguides were transferred to the target substrates successfully and the process that was used can enable heterogeneous integration of InGaP and SOI platform. / Denna avhandling presenterar studier av III-V-halvledarvågledare med särskild tonvikt på andra ordningens optisk olinjäritet. De olinjära processer som undersöktes i denna avhandling är SHG och SPDC. De optiska vågledarna är gjorda av InGaP och vågledardesignen inkluderar avsmalnande delar för in- och utkoppling av styrt ljus. Simulering av ljusutbredning och modala lösningar gjordes med Lumerical MODE, FDTD och COMSOL Multiphysics mjukvara. In- och utkopplingen för konstruktionen av avsmalnande vågledare som utnyttjar bulkolinjäriteten är 65 % när vågledaren är 145 nm tjock och 2,60 μm bred med PMMA som toppbeklädnad. SHGkonverteringseffektiviteten för denna konfiguration när vågledarlängden är 2 μm lång, är 31 %/W. Tre fall av utnyttjande av ytolinjäriteten föreslås också. Preliminära steg mot tillverkningen av vågledarstrukturerna rapporteras också. De speciella mesa-isolerade substraten är tillverkade med en sidovägg med en negativ vinkelprofil som resulterar i en betydande underskärning. InGaP-vågledare överfördes till målsubstraten framgångsrikt och processen som användes kan möjliggöra heterogen integration av InGaP och SOI-plattformen.

The advancement in demand for high bandwidth energy-efficient communication in the data centre and edge cloud servers needs a viable optical interconnection solution to cope with the demands. Therefore, the presented study describes the concept of flexible multi-mode waveguides (MM-WGs) as an optical link for co-packaged optics. It evaluates three lithography technologies; UV-lithography, 2 photon polymerization direct laser writing process (2PP-DLW), and nano-imprint lithography (NIL) for the fabrication of flexible MM-WGs. The UV-lithography and 2PP-DLW process were evaluated for the fabrication of MM-WGs and micro-mirrors, respectively, for the master pattern of the NIL stamp. The NIL evaluates the imprinting of the MM-WGs with micro-mirrors at either end on the flexible and transparent PEN substrates with a low-loss OrmoClad lower cladding layer. There are five different cross-sections from 10×10 µm 2 to 50×50 µm 2 of MM-WGs with micro-mirrors were imprinted. Additionally, it presents the importance of integrating multi-lithography technologies to fabricate flexible optical links where a 2PP-DLW process shows the best results for printing µm-scale optical components. On the other side, UV-lithography with SU-8 gives the foremost definition of the master for the polymeric MM-WGs. Furthermore, NIL offers the industrial mass-production option alongside prototyping.:Abstract Introduction Introduction to the Concept of Multi-Lithography Technologies for Flexible Optical Link Experimental Results and Discussion Conclusion and Future Outlook

Chalcogenide glasses are highly nonlinear optical materials which can be used for fabricating active and passive photonic devices. This thesis work deals with the fabrication of buried, three dimensional, channel waveguides in chalcogenide glasses, using ultrafast laser inscription technique. The femtosecond laser pulses are focused into rare earth ions doped and undoped chalcogenide glasses, few hundred microns below from the surface to modify the physical properties such as refractive index, density, etc. These changes are made use in the fabrication of active and passive photonic waveguides which have applications in integrated optics. The first chapter provides an introduction to the fundamental aspects of femtosecond laser inscription, laser interaction with matter and chalcogenide glasses for photonic applications. The advantages and applications of chalcogenide glasses are also described. Motivation and overview of the present thesis work have been discussed at the end. The methods of chalcogenide glass preparation, waveguide fabrication and characterization of the glasses investigated are described in the second chapter. Also, the details of the experiments undertaken, namely, loss (passive insertion loss) and gain measurements (active) and nanoindentation studies are outlined. Chapter three presents a study on the effect of net fluence on waveguide formation. A heat diffusion model has been used to solve the waveguide cross-section. The waveguide formation in GeGaS chalcogenide glasses using the ultrafast laser, has been analyzed in the light of a finite element thermal diffusion model. The relation between the net fluence and waveguide cross section diameter has been verified using the experimentally measured properties and theoretically predicted values. Chapter four presents a study on waveguide fabrication on Er doped Chalcogenide glass. The active and passive characterization is done and the optimal waveguide fabrication parameters are given, along with gain properties for Er doped GeGaS glass. A C-band waveguide amplifier has been demonstrated on Chalcogenide glasses using ultrafast laser inscription technique. A study on the mechanical properties of the waveguide, undertaken using the nanoindentation technique, is presented in the fifth chapter. This work brings out the close relation between the change in mechanical properties such as elastic modulus and hardness of the material under the irradiation of ultrafast laser after the waveguide formation. Also, a threshold value of the modulus and hardness for characterizing the modes of the waveguide is suggested. Finally, the chapter six provides a summary of work undertaken and also discusses the future work to be carried out.

Photonic crystals (PhCs) are structures periodic in thedielectric constant. They exhibit a photonic bandgap, i.e., arange of wavelengths for which light propagation is forbidden.Engineering of defects in the PhC lattice offers new ways toconfine and guide light. PhCs have been manufactured usingsemiconductors and other material technologies. This thesisfocuses on two-dimensional PhCs etched in InP-based materials.Only recently, such structures were identified as promisingcandidates for the realization of novel and advanced functionsfor optical communication applications. The primary focus was on fabrication and characterization ofPhC structures in the InP/GaInAsP/InP material system. Thedemands on fabrication are very high: holes as small as100-300nm in diameter have to be etched at least as deep as 2µm. Thus, different etch processes had to be explored andspecifically developed for InP. We have implemented an etchingprocess based on Ar/Cl2chemically assisted ion beam etching (CAIBE), thatrepresents the state of the art PhC etching in InP. Different building blocks were manufactured using thisprocess. A transmission loss of 10dB/mm for a PhC waveguide, areflection of 96.5% for a 4-row mirror and a record qualityfactor of 310 for a 1D cavity were achieved for this materialsystem. With an etch depth of 4.5 µm, optical loss wasfound to be close to the intrinsic limit. PhC-based opticalfilters were demonstrated using (a) a Fabry-Pérot cavityinserted in a PhC waveguide and (b) a contra-directionalcoupler. Lag effect in CAIBE was utilized positively to realizehigh quality PhC taper sections. Using a PhC taper, a couplingefficiency of 70% was demonstrated from a standard ridgewaveguide to a single line defect PhC waveguide. During the course of this work, InP membrane technology wasdeveloped and a Fabry-Pérot cavity with a quality factorof 3200 was demonstrated. Keywords:photonic crystals, photonic bandgap materials,indium phosphide, dry etching, chemically assisted ion beametching, reactive ion etching, electron beam lithography,photonic integrated circuits, optical waveguides, resonantcavities, optical filtering, finite difference time domain,plane wave expansion.

The objective of this thesis is to study of optical effects, arising in the form of non-uniform waveguide structure, complicated refractive index profiles or due to pulse propagation in dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) optical communication systems. These effects are important and critically influence the performance of DWDM optical systems. A comprehensive survey of current literature on optical effects due to nonuniform optical structure and nonlinear optical effects is first done, showing their advantages and disadvantage in optical communication systems. A survey on methods of optical waveguide analysis is also done. The main contribution has been made to three main aspects of the problem : Accurate analysis of uniform/non-uniform optical waveguides with arbitary refractive index profiles Pulse propagation and distortion in DWDM Raman amplification systems. Use of non-uniform FBG to compensate for pulse distortion We study several existing analytical techniques developed so far for analyzing the mode of non-uniform optical waveguide structures. Later, we verify the analytical results by finite element method (FEM). The convergence study is also carried out. A new computational technique is proposed modifying the finite element method to analyze complex refractive index profiles required for the analysis, namely single mode step index profile, multi clad fiber, W -profile, chirp profile etc. An accuracy of 10−4 in the calculation of propagation constant/eigen-value is demonstrated. Dispersion characteristics of optical fibers w.r.t. different profile parameters is evaluated. A modification to scalar BPM is proposed and applied to study the effects of inhomogeneities along the propagation direction. The applicability and accuracy of the method is tested using integrated optic waveguide devices, namely, graded index slab waveguide. The proposed BPM uses Fourier decomposition of the transverse field. Coupled mode theory (CMT) of optical waveguides in non-homogeneous optical medium is applied to study the interaction of lightwaves propagation together such as in a DWDM system. The BPM results is verified by CMT. The inhomogeneous waveguide theory is extended to study pulse propagation in DWDM optical communication system. Nonlinear optical effects are an important aspects of DWDM systems with fiber Raman amplifier. Finite difference time domain (FDTD) method is necessary to study these nonlinear optical effects as other conventional methods are not suitable here. Here, we discuss DWDM optical communication systems due to nonlinearity in the form of SRS effect. In case of FRA, we study the various kinds of fiber profile design parameters, for the purpose to achieve and extend the flat gain bandwidth over the EDFA window. We also propose and study, a new bi-directional optical fiber transmission scheme with various constraints, using Raman amplification process with and without pump depletion. Our scheme, provides an advantage like high SNR, low pump induced noise, for long-haul communication link. We find that, there is a quite significant crosstalk and power coupling among the dense DWDM channels but earlier discussed BPM fails to account for possible interference effects among the channels. To reduce the harmful nonlinear optical effects like four wave mixing (FWM), we need to deploy a high chromatic dispersion fiber, which will ultimately lead to high pulse walk-off rate among the DWDM channels; hence for high bit rate long haul systems, walk-off effect can not be ignored. Application of FDTD provided an improved insight into the effect of GVD on stimulated Raman scattering crosstalk than different modulation techniques and line codes. It is shown through analysis that pulse walk-off phenomena may distort the data asymmetrically; especially for case of wide-band DWDM transmission system. Hence, the pulse walk-off effect should be considered in future systems containing optical amplifier. It is shown, that large walk-off rate may reduce the crosstalk among DWDM channels but tends to increase the asymmetric pulse distortion. Data may lose due to high walk-off effect. We also investigate channel addition/removal process in DWDM fiber Raman amplifier. We also demonstrate that the pulse walk-off effect tends to lead significantly to positive chirp for higher frequency channels. This feature can be exploited to overcome the chromatic dispersion effects in DWDM transmission systems. Pulse walk-off induced chirp, can be compensated by using the nonuniform fiber Bragg grating (NUFBG). The CMT due to periodic perturbation of the circular cylindrical waveguide structures is applied here. Here, we discuss the function of fiber Bragg grating as a transmission versus reflecting grating filter. We also discuss, FBG application to gain flattening of an EDFA window as well as how the group velocity dispersion (GVD) will be affected with bandwidth and coupling coefficient. We develop a new analytical technique to estimate the bandwidth of FBG based optical system. Finally, we investigate the dispersion compensation properties, pulse distortion, peak reflectivity analysis in uniform/non-uniform FBG due to an uniform/non-uniform incoming signal. More complicated refractive index profile can significantly reduce the GVD as well as side lobes intensity. Dispersion characteristic due to an arbitrary refractive index profile is discussed in details for the case of non-uniform FBG. Thus, we concluded that wide band DWDM optical communication system need to closely take into account various inhomogeneities and nonlinearities of optical fibers w.r.t. wave and pulse propagation.

<p>Photonic crystals (PhCs) are structures periodic in thedielectric constant. They exhibit a photonic bandgap, i.e., arange of wavelengths for which light propagation is forbidden.Engineering of defects in the PhC lattice offers new ways toconfine and guide light. PhCs have been manufactured usingsemiconductors and other material technologies. This thesisfocuses on two-dimensional PhCs etched in InP-based materials.Only recently, such structures were identified as promisingcandidates for the realization of novel and advanced functionsfor optical communication applications.</p><p>The primary focus was on fabrication and characterization ofPhC structures in the InP/GaInAsP/InP material system. Thedemands on fabrication are very high: holes as small as100-300nm in diameter have to be etched at least as deep as 2µm. Thus, different etch processes had to be explored andspecifically developed for InP. We have implemented an etchingprocess based on Ar/Cl₂chemically assisted ion beam etching (CAIBE), thatrepresents the state of the art PhC etching in InP.</p><p>Different building blocks were manufactured using thisprocess. A transmission loss of 10dB/mm for a PhC waveguide, areflection of 96.5% for a 4-row mirror and a record qualityfactor of 310 for a 1D cavity were achieved for this materialsystem. With an etch depth of 4.5 µm, optical loss wasfound to be close to the intrinsic limit. PhC-based opticalfilters were demonstrated using (a) a Fabry-Pérot cavityinserted in a PhC waveguide and (b) a contra-directionalcoupler. Lag effect in CAIBE was utilized positively to realizehigh quality PhC taper sections. Using a PhC taper, a couplingefficiency of 70% was demonstrated from a standard ridgewaveguide to a single line defect PhC waveguide.</p><p>During the course of this work, InP membrane technology wasdeveloped and a Fabry-Pérot cavity with a quality factorof 3200 was demonstrated.</p><p><b>Keywords:</b>photonic crystals, photonic bandgap materials,indium phosphide, dry etching, chemically assisted ion beametching, reactive ion etching, electron beam lithography,photonic integrated circuits, optical waveguides, resonantcavities, optical filtering, finite difference time domain,plane wave expansion.</p>

Nous avons étudié l'influence de la fabrication de guides d'ondes optiques par échange protonique doux(SPE) sur les cristaux de niobate de lithium (LN) polarisé périodiquement et nous avons montré que,dans certains cas, ce processus conduit à la création de nanodomaines en surface. Ces nanodomaines enforme d'aiguille peuvent être responsables de la réduction de l'efficacité de conversion non linéaireobservée dans les guides qui sont affectés. Nous avons également étudié l'influence de différents typesd'échange protonique sur la formation, par application d'un champ électrique, de domaines dans le LNcongruent. Cette étude montre que le seuil de nucléation peut être fortement réduit par la présence duguide d'onde et que l'apparition et le développement des domaines en forme de traits est fortementmodifiée. Elle montre également que la fusion des nanodomaines existants au voisinage des parois dedomaine aboutit à la formation de parois élargies et de domaines en forme de dendrites. En irradiantavec un faisceau d'électrons la surface Z- d'un échantillon de LN préalablement soumis à un échangeprotonique doux et recouvert d'une couche de résine électronique, nous avons réussi à former desdomaines avec des formes arbitraires. Par cette technique, nous avons fabriqué des domainespériodiques d'excellente qualité dans des cristaux présentant des guides canaux SPE. Des expériences degénération de deuxième harmonique dans ces guides nous ont permis d'obtenir des efficacités deconversion de 48%/W.cm2 ce qui est conforme aux prédictions ainsi que la forme des spectres d'accordde phase que nous avons observés. Ceci démontre tout l'intérêt de ce processus / The investigation of influence of the soft proton exchange (SPE) optical waveguide (WG) creation onperiodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) has been done. It has been shown that the WG fabricationprocess can induce the formation of needle like nanodomains, which can be responsible for thedegradation of the nonlinear response of the WG created in PPLN crystals. The domain structure (DS)evolution has been studied in congruent lithium niobate (LN) crystals with surface layers modified bythree different proton exchange techniques. The significant decrease of the nucleation threshold fieldand qualitative change of domain rays nucleation and growth have been revealed. The formation of abroad domain boundary and dendrite domain structure as a result of nanodomains merging in front ofthe moving rays has been demonstrated. The formation of DS in LN with SPE by irradiation of coveredby electron resist polar surface of LN has been investigated. Formation of domains with arbitrary shapesas a result of discrete switching has been revealed. Finally, it has been demonstrated that electron beamirradiation of lithium niobate crystals with surface resist layer can produce high quality periodical domainpatterns after channel waveguide fabrication. Nonlinear characterizations show that the conversionefficiencies and the phase matching spectra conform to theoretical predictions, indicating that thiscombination presents a great interest for device fabrication. Second harmonic generation withnormalized nonlinear conversion efficiency up to 48%/(W cm2) has been achieved in such waveguides

Optofluidics is a new branch within photonics which attempts to unify concepts from optics and microfluidics. Unification of photonics and microfluidics enable us to carry out analysis of fluids through highly sensitive optical sensing device. These optical sensing devices are contained within a microchip, wherein light is made to pass through analyte (fluids of few nanoliters). The interaction between light and fluid gives rise to highly sensitive diagnostic systems. In this work the fabrication and performance characterization of a fluorescent green OLED for optofluidic applications is presented. The effect of thickness variation of hole injection (CuPc) and hole blocking (BCP) layers on the performance of fluorescent green organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) have been studied. Even though these two organic layers have opposite functions, yet there is a particular combination of their thicknesses when they function in conjunction and luminous efficiency and power efficiency are maximized. The optimum thickness of CuPc layer, used as hole injection layer and BCP used as hole blocking layer were found to be 18 nm and 10 nm respectively. It is with this delicate adjustment of thicknesses, charge balancing was achieved and luminous efficiency and power efficiency were optimized. Such OLEDs with higher luminance can be monolithically integrated with other optical and fluidic components on a common substrate and can function as monolithically integrated internal source of light in optofluidic sensors. In this work the analysis of a fully integrated optofluidic lab-on-a-chip sensor for refractive index and absorbance based sensing using fluorescent green organic light emitting diode (OLED) as a light source is also presented. This device consists of collinear input and output waveguides which are separated by a microfluidic channel. When light is passed through the analyte contained in the fluidic gap an optical power loss due to absorption of light takes place. Apart from absorption a mode-mismatch between collinear input and output waveguide also occurs. The degree of mode-mismatch, quantum of optical power loss due to absorption of light by the fluid forms the basis of our analysis. Detection of minutest change in refractive index and changes in concentration of species contained in the analyte is indicative of sensitivity. Various parameters which influence the sensitivity of the sensor are mode spot size, refractive index of the fluid, molar concentration of the species contained in the analyte, width of the fluidic gap, waveguide geometry. By correlating various parameters, an optimal fluidic gap distance corresponding to a particular mode spot size to achieve the best sensitivity for refractive index based sensing and absorbance based sensing have been determined.

Dans le domaine de la nanophotonique, la compréhension des phénomènes optiques liés au guidage sub-longueur d'onde dans des structures pleines (nanofils) ou creuses (nanotubes) est un enjeu prioritaire. L'objectif de cette thèse a porté sur l'étude de la propagation lumineuse au sein de nouveaux guides d'onde nanométriques passifs et actifs. Pour cela, des nanofils et nanotubes à base de polymère ont été conçus et élaborés par méthode wetting template. Afin de caractériser leur comportement optique et en particulier la propagation sub-longueur d'onde, de nouveaux outils expérimentaux et numériques ont été développés. La modélisation des phénomènes propagatifs dans ces nanofibres a été effectuée par la méthode numérique FDTD. Les effets de la géométrie de ces nanofils et nanotubes, de par leurs dimensions (diamètres externe et interne pour les nanotubes) et du substrat sur le comportement propagatif et le niveau des pertes ont en particulier été déterminés. Sur le plan expérimental, deux types de nanofibres on été utilisés : - des nanofibres "passives" à base de polymère SU8 et - des nanofibres "actives" comportant un polymère guidant la lumière et un luminophore servant de source à l'échelle nanométrique. Pour l'étude des nanofibres de SU8, l'injection directe a été réalisée par le biais d'une fibre optique microlentillée. Un résultat marquant est l'évaluation des pertes optiques mesuré par la méthode cut- back autour de 1,25 dB/mm pour des nanotubes aux diamètres externes et internes respectivement de 240 nm et 120 nm. Cette évaluation de pertes optiques apparaît très compétitif comparativement à d'autres systèmes actuellement envisagés pour la nanophotonique intégrée. Concernant les nanofibres actives qui comportent des luminophores (cluster organométalliques ou polymère fluorescent PFO), nos études ont validé l'excitation du mode propre par caractérisation dans l'espace de Fourier. Nos résultats ont montré le potentiel de ces nanofibres organiques comme briques pour la nanophotonique. / In the field of nanophotonics, the understanding of optical phenomena related to sub-wavelength guiding in filled structures (nanowires) or hollow (nanotubes) is a priority. The objective of this thesis focused on the study of light propagation in new passive and active nanoscale waveguides. For this, nanowires and nanotubes based polymer has been designed and developed by template wetting method. To characterize their optical behavior and in particular the sub-wavelength propagation, new numerical and experimental tools have been developed. Modelling phenomena propagating in these nanofibers was performed by the numerical FDTD method. The effects of the geometry of these nanotubes and nanowires, by their size (outer and inner diameter for nanotubes) and propagating on the substrate and the behavior of losses have been determined in particular. Experimentally, two types of nanofibers have been used: - "passive" nanofibers based on SU8 polymer and - "active" polymer nanofibers having a waveguiding polymer and a luminophor as a source at nanoscale. To study nanofibers SU8, direct injection was performed through an microlensed optical fiber. A striking result is the assessment of optical losses measured by the cut-back around 1.25 dB/mm for nanotubes to external and internal diameters respectively 240 nm and 120 nm. This assessment of optical losses appear very competitive compared to other systems currently envisaged for integrated nanophotonics. Regarding the active nanofibers which comprise luminophors (organometallic cluster or fluorescent polymer PFO), our studies have validated the excitation of mode by characterization in Fourier space. Our results showed the potential of organic nanofibers as bricks for nanophotonics.