Integration of magnetooptical waveguides onto a III-V semiconductor surface

Optical waveguides fabricated on a yttrium iron garnet (YIG) substrate are integrated onto a semiconductor surface by using ridge waveguides patterned onto a prefabricated recess in the YIG surface. The recess separates the waveguides from the semiconductor substrate with an air-gap. This structure makes it possible to avoid coupling light within the YIG waveguides into the semiconductor substrate which has a higher refractive index. The excess optical loss due to the coupling can be as low as /spl les/0.1 dB/cm with a 1-μm-wide air-gap. The calculated coupling loss is confirmed by comparing the guided TE and TM modes.