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Title: Use of chemical-mechanical polishing for fabricating photonic bandgap structures

Patent ·
OSTI ID:20013884

A method is disclosed for fabricating a two- or three-dimensional photonic bandgap structure (also termed a photonic crystal, photonic lattice, or photonic dielectric structure). The method uses microelectronic integrated circuit (IC) processes to fabricate the photonic bandgap structure directly upon a silicon substrate. One or more layers of arrayed elements used to form the structure are deposited and patterned, with chemical-mechanical polishing being used to planarize each layer for uniformity and a precise vertical tolerancing of the layer. The use of chemical-mechanical planarization allows the photonic bandgap structure to be formed over a large area with a layer uniformity of about two-percent. Air-gap photonic bandgap structures can also be formed by removing a spacer material separating the arrayed elements by selective etching. The method is useful for fabricating photonic bandgap structures including Fabry-Perot resonators and optical filters for use at wavelengths in the range of about 0.2--20 {mu}m.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC04-94AL85000
OSTI ID:
20013884
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: 7 Dec 1999
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English