Amorphous Germanium Waveguides for Spectroscopic Sensing

With advancements in the field of data communication and chemical sensing, there has been a growing need for waveguides that exhibit low transmission loss. This need has fueled the demand for new materials and fabrication methods in the creation of high-efficiency waveguides. Moreover, the ability to form these waveguides at room temperature is crucial because it makes the technological implementation more feasible and less energy-intensive. Current methods of creating waveguides often suffer from high transmission losses and limited compatibility with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology. These limitations detract from the efficacy and broad applicability of such waveguides. Additionally, most of these waveguides do not transmit well at LWIR wavelengths, another downside that limits their usefulness in various applications.

Technology Description

This technology is related to the creation of a layer of amorphous germanium (Ge), formed on a substrate with a minimum thickness of 50 nm and a minimum purity of 90% Ge. The creation process involves electron-beam evaporation and is performed at room temperature. The substrate is CMOS compatible and transparent at LWIR wavelengths. This layer of amorphous Ge serves as a waveguide useful in chemical sensing and data communication applications. What makes this technology distinct is the fact that the Ge waveguide exhibits a low transmission loss within the LWIR region, specifically 11 dB/cm or less at 8 μm. This high performance makes the technology much more efficient in applications like data communication and chemical sensing, where loss in transmission could be critical.