title: Slot waveguides with polycrystalline silicon for electrical injection.
abstract: We demonstrate horizontal slot waveguides using high-index layers of polycrystalline and single crystalline silicon separated by a 10 nm layer of silicon dioxide. We measure waveguide propagation loss of 7 dB/cm and a ring resonator intrinsic quality factor of 83,000. The electric field of the optical mode is strongly enhanced in the low-index oxide layer, which can be used to induce a strong modal gain when an active material is embedded in the slot. Both high-index layers are made of electrically conductive silicon which can efficiently transport charge to the slot region. The incorporation of conductive silicon materials with high-Q slot waveguide cavities is a key step for realizing electrical tunneling devices such as electrically pumped silicon-based light sources.
authors.affiliation: School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Kyle
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Preston
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lipson