Sputtered metal-oxide waveguides for visible-wavelength integrated photonics

Applications such as quantum and biological sensing require visible wavelengths of operation. While incumbent integrated photonic platforms such as silicon nitride enable low-loss light propagation at these wavelengths, the autofluorescence suffered in silicon nitride causes unwanted signals that will significantly reduce performance in sensing applications. Sputtered metal oxides have recently emerged as a promising alternative platform for integrated photonics from visible to NIR, with the added advantage of a drastic reduction in autofluorescence in the visible regime. Here, I present our recent results in propagation loss and autofluorescence characterization of our sputtered metal oxide platforms in the visible light regime.