Large Bidirectional Refractive Index Change in Silicon-rich Nitride via Visible Light Trimming

Abstract

Phase-sensitive integrated photonic devices are highly susceptible to minor manufacturing deviations, resulting in significant performance inconsistencies. This variability has limited the scalability and widespread adoption of these devices. Here, a major advancement is achieved through continuous-wave (CW) visible light (405 and 520 nm) trimming of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) silicon-rich nitride (SRN) waveguides. The demonstrated method achieves precise, bidirectional refractive index tuning with a single laser source in CMOS-compatible SRN samples with refractive indices of 2.4 and 2.9 (measured at 1550 nm). By utilizing a cost-effective setup for real-time resonance tracking in micro-ring resonators, the resonant wavelength shifts as fine as 10 pm are attained. Additionally, a record red shift of 49.1 nm and a substantial blue shift of 10.6 nm are demonstrated, corresponding to refractive index changes of approximately 0.11 and −2 × 10⁻². The blue and red shifts are both conclusively attributed to thermal annealing. These results highlight SRN's exceptional capability for permanent optical tuning, establishing a foundation for stable, precisely controlled performance in phase-sensitive integrated photonic devices.