Surface encapsulation for low-loss silicon photonics

Encapsulation layers are explored for passivating the surfaces of silicon to reduce optical absorption in the 1500nm wavelength band. Surface-sensitive test structures consisting of microdisk resonators are fabricated for this purpose. Based on previous work in silicon photovoltaics, coatings of SiNx and SiO2 are applied under varying deposition and annealing conditions. A short dry thermal oxidation followed by a long high-temperature N2 anneal is found to be most effective at long-term encapsulation and reduction of interface absorption. Minimization of the optical loss is attributed to simultaneous reduction in sub-band-gap silicon surface states and hydrogen in the capping material.