title: Assembly of silica nanowires on silica aerogels for microphotonic devices.
abstract: We report on the assembly of low-loss silica nanowires into functional microphotonics devices on a low-index nondissipative silica aerogel substrate. Using this all-silica technique, we fabricated linear waveguides, waveguide bends, and branch couplers. The devices are significantly smaller than existing comparable devices and have low optical loss, indicating that the all-silica technique presented here has great potential for future applications in optical communication, optical sensing, and high-density optical integration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Limin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.forename: Jingyi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lou
authors.forename: Rafael R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Gattass
authors.forename: Sailing
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Xuewen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Liu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mazur
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D004581:Electronics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008027:Light; D008422:Materials Testing; D008904:Miniaturization / Q000379:methods; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D043942:Nanotubes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010316:Particle Size; D058428:Silica Gel; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects
chemical_list: D058428:Silica Gel; D012822:Silicon Dioxide