CN112558331A - Thermo-optical device and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents
Thermo-optical device and manufacturing method thereof Download PDFInfo
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- CN112558331A CN112558331A CN202011460354.6A CN202011460354A CN112558331A CN 112558331 A CN112558331 A CN 112558331A CN 202011460354 A CN202011460354 A CN 202011460354A CN 112558331 A CN112558331 A CN 112558331A
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- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02F—OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS
- G02F1/00—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics
- G02F1/01—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour
- G02F1/0147—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour based on thermo-optic effects
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- G—PHYSICS
- G02—OPTICS
- G02F—OPTICAL DEVICES OR ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE CONTROL OF LIGHT BY MODIFICATION OF THE OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF THE MEDIA OF THE ELEMENTS INVOLVED THEREIN; NON-LINEAR OPTICS; FREQUENCY-CHANGING OF LIGHT; OPTICAL LOGIC ELEMENTS; OPTICAL ANALOGUE/DIGITAL CONVERTERS
- G02F1/00—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics
- G02F1/01—Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulating; Non-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour
- G02F1/0102—Constructional details, not otherwise provided for in this subclass
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- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Optics & Photonics (AREA)
- Optical Modulation, Optical Deflection, Nonlinear Optics, Optical Demodulation, Optical Logic Elements (AREA)
Abstract
本发明公开了一种热光器件及其制造方法，涉及热光器件技术领域，用于降低加热电极为光波导进行加热时的加热功耗，提高热光器件的工作性能。该热光器件包括：基底，基底包括衬底、以及形成在衬底上的光波导和加热电极；加热电极位于光波导的上方；衬底内开设有贯穿衬底的第一开口槽，第一开口槽位于光波导的下方；以及填充在第一开口槽内的低热损耗材料，低热损耗材料的导热系数小于衬底的导热系数。所述热光器件的制造方法用于制造所述热光器件。
The invention discloses a thermo-optical device and a manufacturing method thereof, which relate to the technical field of thermo-optical devices and are used for reducing the heating power consumption when a heating electrode is used for heating an optical waveguide and improving the working performance of the thermo-optical device. The thermo-optic device includes: a base, the base includes a base, an optical waveguide and a heating electrode formed on the substrate; the heating electrode is located above the optical waveguide; The opening groove is located below the optical waveguide; and the low heat loss material is filled in the first opening groove, and the thermal conductivity of the low heat loss material is smaller than that of the substrate. The manufacturing method of the thermo-optic device is used to manufacture the thermo-optic device.
Description
Technical Field
The invention relates to the technical field of thermo-optical devices, in particular to a thermo-optical device and a manufacturing method thereof.
Background
The heater electrode is one of the most important components in thermo-optical devices. Specifically, the heating electrode can heat the optical waveguide located below the heating electrode when the heating electrode is energized. Based on the thermo-optic effect, the optical properties (e.g. refractive index) of the heated optical waveguide can be changed, so that the tuning of the transmission signal in the optical waveguide is realized.
However, in the working process of the existing thermo-optical device, when the heating electrode is used for heating the optical waveguide, the heating power consumption of the heating electrode is high, and further the working performance of the thermo-optical device is poor.
Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to provide a thermo-optical device and a manufacturing method thereof, which are used for reducing heating power consumption when a heating electrode is used for heating an optical waveguide and improving the working performance of the thermo-optical device.
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a thermo-optical device comprising:
a base including a substrate, and an optical waveguide and a heating electrode formed on the substrate; the heating electrode is positioned above the optical waveguide; a first open slot penetrating through the substrate is formed in the substrate and is positioned below the optical waveguide;
and a low heat loss material filled in the first open groove, the low heat loss material having a thermal conductivity less than that of the substrate.
Compared with the prior art, the thermo-optical device provided by the invention has the advantages that the optical waveguide and the heating electrode positioned above the optical waveguide are formed on the substrate. Wherein the optical waveguide is capable of transmitting an optical signal. The heating electrode is used for heating the optical waveguide positioned below the heating electrode in a heat conduction mode, so that tuning of transmission signals in the optical waveguide is realized. Further, a first open slot penetrating the substrate is formed in the substrate, the first open slot being located below the optical waveguide. Meanwhile, the first open slot is filled with a low heat loss material, and the heat conductivity coefficient of the low heat loss material is smaller than that of the substrate. In this case, in the heating process of the heating electrode, even though the heat energy generated by the heating electrode is conducted to the optical waveguide and the low heat loss material below the optical waveguide, the existence of the low heat loss material can prevent most of the heat energy generated by the heating electrode from being dissipated to the external environment from the lower part of the optical waveguide due to the poor heat conduction performance of the low heat loss material, so that the part of the heat energy can be fully utilized by the heating optical waveguide, and the heating power consumption of the heating electrode can be further reduced. Meanwhile, under the condition that the heating power of the heating electrode is constant, compared with the condition that most of heat energy generated by the heating electrode in the prior art is dissipated to the external environment from the substrate below the optical waveguide, the heat energy generated by the heating electrode in the thermo-optical device provided by the invention can be fully utilized by the heating optical waveguide, so that the heating electrode can heat the optical waveguide to the target temperature in a shorter time, the heating efficiency of the heating electrode is improved, and the heating electrode can tune the transmission signal in the optical waveguide in a shorter time. From the above, the thermo-optical device provided by the invention can reduce heating power consumption, improve heating efficiency and improve the working performance of the optical device while ensuring that the optical signal output by the optical waveguide meets the working requirement.
The invention also provides a manufacturing method of the thermo-optical device, which comprises the following steps:
providing a base, wherein the base comprises a substrate, and an optical waveguide and a heating electrode which are formed on the substrate; the heating electrode is positioned above the optical waveguide;
a first open slot penetrating through the substrate is formed in the substrate, and the first open slot is positioned below the optical waveguide;
filling a low-heat-loss material in the first open slot; the thermal conductivity of the low heat loss material is less than the thermal conductivity of the substrate.
Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the manufacturing method of the thermo-optical device provided by the invention are the same as those of the thermo-optical device in the technical scheme, and are not repeated herein.
Drawings
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the invention and not to limit the invention. In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a structure after providing a substrate in an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a structure at an erosion window after formation of a cantilever beam structure in an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a structure after temporary bonding of a carrier wafer to the front side of a substrate in an embodiment of the invention;
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a structure after thinning a side of a substrate facing away from an optical waveguide in an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a structure after a first open groove is formed in an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the structure after filling the first open slot with the low heat loss material according to the embodiment of the present invention;
fig. 7 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the structure after removal of the temporary bond paste and carrier wafer in an embodiment of the invention.
Reference numerals:
the chip comprises a substrate 1, a substrate 11, a first open slot 111, an optical waveguide 12, a heating electrode 13, a cladding 14, a low-heat-loss material 2, a cantilever beam structure 3, a temporary bonding adhesive 4 and a slide wafer 5.
Detailed Description
The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments.
Various schematic diagrams of embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings, which are not drawn to scale. Wherein certain details are exaggerated and possibly omitted for clarity of understanding. The shapes of various regions, layers, and relative sizes and positional relationships therebetween shown in the drawings are merely exemplary, and deviations may occur in practice due to manufacturing tolerances or technical limitations, and a person skilled in the art may additionally design regions/layers having different shapes, sizes, relative positions, as actually required.
In the following, the terms "first", "second", etc. are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first," "second," etc. may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of the present application, "a plurality" means two or more unless otherwise specified.
In addition, in the present invention, directional terms such as "upper" and "lower" are defined with respect to a schematically placed orientation of components in the drawings, and it is to be understood that these directional terms are relative concepts, which are used for relative description and clarification, and may be changed accordingly according to the change of the orientation in which the components are placed in the drawings.
In the present invention, unless expressly stated or limited otherwise, the term "coupled" is to be interpreted broadly, e.g., "coupled" may be fixedly coupled, detachably coupled, or integrally formed; may be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate.
The heater electrode is one of the most important components in thermo-optical devices. Specifically, the heating electrode can heat the optical waveguide located below the heating electrode when the heating electrode is energized. Based on the thermo-optic effect, the optical properties (e.g. refractive index) of the heated optical waveguide can be changed, so that the tuning of the transmission signal in the optical waveguide is realized.
However, in the operation of the conventional thermo-optical device, when the optical waveguide formed on the substrate is heated by the heating electrode, most of the heat energy generated by the heating electrode is dissipated from the substrate to the external environment, so that the heat energy cannot be effectively utilized. In this case, in order to heat the optical waveguide to the preset temperature, the heating electrode is required to generate more heat energy, so that the heating power consumption of the heating electrode is higher, and the working performance of the thermo-optical device is poorer.
In addition, under the condition that the heating power of the heating electrode is constant, most of the heat energy generated by the heating electrode is dissipated from the substrate to the external environment, so that the heating electrode is heated for the same heating time, the temperature rise degree of the optical waveguide is reduced, namely the heating rate of the heating electrode is low, and the working performance of the thermo-optic device is poor.
In order to solve the above technical problem, embodiments of the present invention provide a thermo-optical device and a method for manufacturing the same. In the thermo-optical device provided in the embodiment of the present invention, a first open slot penetrating through the substrate is formed in the substrate, and the first open slot is located below the optical waveguide. And the first open slot is filled with low heat loss material. In this case, in the heating process of the heating electrode, because the low heat loss material has poor heat conductivity, the low heat loss material can prevent most of the heat energy generated by the heating electrode from being dissipated to the external environment from the lower part of the optical waveguide, so that the heat energy can be fully utilized by the heating optical waveguide, the heating power consumption of the heating electrode can be reduced, and the heating efficiency of the heating electrode can be improved.
Referring to fig. 7, an embodiment of the present invention provides a thermo-optic device, which may be any thermo-optic device capable of transmitting an optical signal. For example: the thermo-optical device can be a silicon-based thermo-optical device or a germanium-based thermo-optical device and the like.
Referring to fig. 7, the thermo-optic device includes: a substrate 1 and a low heat loss material 2. The base 1 includes a substrate 11, and an optical waveguide 12 and a heating electrode 13 formed on the substrate 11. The heating electrode 13 is located above the optical waveguide 12. A first open slot 111 is formed in the substrate 11 to penetrate through the substrate 11, and the first open slot 111 is located below the optical waveguide 12.
Specifically, the specific structure of the base, the material of the substrate, and the material and structure of the optical waveguide may be selected according to the type of the thermo-optical device. For example: when the thermo-optical device is a silicon-based thermo-optical device, the substrate may be a silicon substrate, the optical waveguide may be a silicon waveguide, and the silicon waveguide may be a rectangular waveguide.
For the above heating electrode, the structure of the heating electrode and the distance between the heating electrode and the optical waveguide may be set according to the structure of the optical waveguide and the practical application scenario, and is not limited specifically here. For example: the heating electrode may be a metal plate heating electrode having a width greater than or equal to the width of the optical waveguide. Alternatively, the heating electrode may be a zigzag type heating electrode having a width greater than or equal to the width of the optical waveguide. The material contained in the heating electrode may be a conductive material such as titanium nitride, silver, or copper.
And for the first open slot, when the thermo-optic device includes an optical waveguide, the width of the first open slot may be greater than or equal to the width of the optical waveguide. When the thermo-optical device includes a plurality of optical waveguides, a width of the first open slot may be greater than or equal to a sum of a width of the plurality of optical waveguides and a pitch of the plurality of optical waveguides.
In some cases, referring to fig. 7, the base 1 may further include a cladding layer 14 formed on a surface of the substrate 11. The optical waveguide 12 and the heater electrode 13 are formed in the clad 14. In this case, the presence of the cladding 14 can reduce optical loss of the optical waveguide in conducting the optical signal. Specifically, the material contained in the cladding 14 may be silica, a high polymer material, or the like.
Referring to fig. 7, the above-mentioned low heat loss material 2 is filled in the first open groove 111, and the thermal conductivity of the low heat loss material 2 is smaller than that of the substrate 11.
Specifically, the specific value of the thermal conductivity of the low heat loss material may be set according to the coefficient of the derivative of the substrate included in the thermo-optic device and the practical application scenario. Obviously, the smaller the thermal conductivity of the low heat loss material, the worse the thermal conductivity of the low heat loss material. Accordingly, the less thermal energy is dissipated by the low heat loss material below the optical waveguide to the external environment during heating of the heating electrode. For example: when the substrate included in the thermo-optical device is a silicon substrate, the thermal conductivity of the low thermal loss material ranges from greater than 0 to less than 150W/mK. In addition, as for the types of the materials with low heat loss, the thermal conductivity thereof is smaller than that of the substrate, and the materials can be applied to the thermo-optical device provided by the embodiment of the invention. Exemplary such low heat loss materials include air, aerogel or tungsten diselenide.
In practical application, after being electrified, the heating electrode can convert electric energy into heat energy, and heat the optical waveguide positioned below the heating electrode in a heat conduction mode. Specifically, the heat energy generated by the heating electrode is conducted to the optical waveguide and the low heat loss material below the optical waveguide. At this time, because the low heat loss material has poor heat conduction performance, the existence of the low heat loss material can prevent most of the heat energy generated by the heating electrode from dissipating to the external environment from the lower part of the optical waveguide, so that the part of the heat energy can be fully utilized by the heating optical waveguide, and the heating power consumption of the heating electrode can be further reduced. Meanwhile, under the condition that the heating power of the heating electrode is constant, compared with the condition that most of heat energy generated by the heating electrode in the prior art is dissipated to the external environment from the substrate below the optical waveguide, the heat energy generated by the heating electrode in the thermo-optical device provided by the embodiment of the invention can be fully utilized by the heating optical waveguide, so that the heating electrode can heat the optical waveguide to the target temperature in a short time, the heating efficiency of the heating electrode is improved, and the heating electrode can tune the transmission signal in the optical waveguide in a short time. As can be seen from the above, the thermo-optical device provided in the embodiment of the present invention can reduce heating power consumption, improve heating efficiency, and improve the working performance of the optical device while ensuring that the optical signal output by the optical waveguide meets the working requirement.
In one example, referring to fig. 7, the thermo-optic device may further include a grating (not shown) or cantilever structure 3 formed within the cladding 14. A grating or cantilever structure 3 is located at one side of the optical waveguide 12 for coupling an optical signal into or out of the optical waveguide 12. It will be appreciated that the presence of the grating or cantilever beam structure 3 may couple an optical signal transmitted to the thermo-optic device by an optical fibre or other structure into the optical waveguide 12 of the thermo-optic device, and that transmission and tuning of the optical signal is achieved by the optical waveguide 12. Alternatively, the optical signal may be coupled out of optical waveguide 12 into an optical fiber or other structure.
Specifically, the specific shapes, specifications, and the like of the grating and cantilever beam structures may be set according to an actual application scenario, and are not specifically limited herein. For example: the grating can be a focusing grating, a bidirectional vertical grating, a non-uniform grating and the like. The cantilever structure may include a silicon waveguide and a silica waveguide surrounding the silicon waveguide. When the thermo-optic device includes a cantilever structure, there is a gap between the cantilever structure and the substrate.
In one example, the thermo-optic device may further include a package substrate or a printed circuit board. Of course, the thermo-optic device may further include a package substrate and a printed circuit board. The package substrate or the printed circuit board is connected to a side of the substrate facing away from the optical waveguide. Specifically, when the thermo-optical device includes a package substrate or a printed circuit board, the substrate having the first opening groove (filled with the low thermal loss material) on the back surface thereof may be connected to the package substrate or the printed circuit board through a conductive silver paste or other metal material, so as to integrate the thermo-optical device with other devices or a plurality of thermo-optical devices. When the thermo-optic device includes a package substrate and a printed circuit board, the substrate may be first packaged on the package substrate and then connected to the printed circuit board through the package substrate.
Specifically, the specific structures of the package substrate and the printed circuit board may be set according to practical application scenarios, and are not specifically limited herein.
For example, on the basis that the thermo-optic device further includes a package substrate and/or a printed circuit board, when the low heat loss material in the first open slot is air, a second open slot communicated with the first open slot may be formed in the package substrate or the printed circuit board, and a cross-sectional area of the second open slot is greater than or equal to a cross-sectional area of the first open slot.
Specifically, as mentioned above, the thermo-optic device needs to be connected to the package substrate or the printed circuit board through a metal material such as conductive silver paste. In this case, when the low heat loss material in the first open slot is air, when the substrate is connected to the package substrate or the printed circuit board on a side close to the first open slot, a metal material such as conductive silver paste may enter the first open slot. In addition, the thermal conductivity of the metal materials such as the conductive silver paste is large. Correspondingly, in the process that the heating electrode heats the optical waveguide, most of heat energy generated by the heating electrode can be dissipated to the external environment through metal materials such as conductive silver adhesive and the like. And under the condition that set up the second open slot that communicates with first open slot in packaging substrate or printed circuit board, when encapsulating thermo-optical device on packaging substrate or printed circuit board, metal material such as conductive silver glue can fill in the second open slot, and can not enter into first open slot to can prevent that the produced most heat of heating electrode from scattering and disappearing to external environment, and then guarantee under the condition that low heat loss material is the air, can reduce the heating power consumption of heating electrode, improve heating electrode's heating efficiency.
The embodiment of the invention also provides a manufacturing method of the thermo-optical device. The manufacturing process will be described below with reference to the cross-sectional views of the operation shown in fig. 1 to 7. Specifically, the manufacturing method of the thermo-optical device comprises the following steps:
referring to fig. 1, a base 1 is provided, the base 1 including a substrate 11, and an optical waveguide 12 and a heating electrode 13 formed on the substrate 11. The heating electrode 13 is located above the optical waveguide 12. Specifically, the detailed structure of the substrate 1, the material of the substrate 11, and the like can be referred to above, and are not described herein again. Illustratively, the base 1 may further include a cladding layer 14 formed on the surface of the substrate 11. The optical waveguide 12 and the heater electrode 13 are formed in the cladding 14. The material contained in the cladding 14 may be silica, a high polymer material, or the like.
In an example, referring to fig. 2, in the case that the base 1 further includes the cladding layer 14 formed on the substrate 11, as described above, when the thermo-optical device further includes the grating or cantilever structure 3, after the base 1 is provided, the grating (not shown) or cantilever structure 3 is further formed on the substrate 11 before subsequent operations are performed. A grating or cantilever structure 3 is located within the cladding 14, the grating or cantilever structure 3 being located on one side of the optical waveguide 12 for coupling an optical signal into or out of the optical waveguide 12. Specifically, the specific shape, specification, etc. of the grating or cantilever structure 3 can be referred to the above description, and are not described herein again.
For example, when the thermo-optical device includes a grating, the grating may be formed at the same time as the optical waveguide, or after the cladding is formed, the cladding may be patterned by photolithography and etching processes to form a groove. And forming a grating in the groove and forming a dielectric layer covering the grating and the cladding layer by deposition, photoetching, etching and other processes.
For example, in the case that the thermo-optical device includes a cantilever structure and the cantilever structure includes a silicon waveguide and a silicon dioxide waveguide on the periphery of the silicon waveguide, the silicon waveguide included in the cantilever structure may be formed at the same time as the optical waveguide (the material of the optical waveguide is silicon), or after the cladding is formed, the cladding may be subjected to a first patterning process through a photolithography and etching process to form a groove. And forming the silicon waveguide in the groove. Then, a silica layer is formed to cover the silicon waveguide and the cladding layer, and the cladding layer and the silica layer are subjected to a second patterning process to form an etching window. And finally, corroding the substrate through the corrosion windows by adopting a wet method or dry method etching process, and releasing the cantilever beam structure from the surface of the substrate, so that the cantilever beam structure is suspended on the substrate through the connecting parts between the adjacent corrosion windows.
In one example, in the case where the cantilever structure is formed on the substrate, a protective layer covering the base and the cantilever structure may be formed on the base before a first opening groove penetrating the substrate is opened in the substrate. Under the condition, before the substrate is inverted to enable the back surface of the substrate to face upwards and the side, away from the optical waveguide, of the substrate is processed, a protective layer covering the substrate and the cantilever beam structure is formed on the substrate, the cantilever beam structure can be protected from being affected by subsequent processing, and the yield of the thermo-optical device is improved. Specifically, the protective layer may include a layer such as a photoresist layer that is easily removed.
Referring to fig. 3 to 5, a first open groove 111 penetrating the substrate 11 is opened in the substrate 11, the first open groove 111 being located below the optical waveguide 12.
In the practical application process, the depth-to-width ratio of the open groove which can be formed by the wet etching process or the dry etching process is 30: 1-50: 1. Specifically, within the above range, the wider the width of the open groove, the deeper the depth of the open groove that can be formed by the above two processes, respectively. Generally, in the case where the width of the open groove is less than or equal to 15 μm, the aspect ratio of the open groove formed by the above two etching processes is about 30: 1. Under the condition that the width of the open groove is larger than 15 micrometers, the depth-to-width ratio of the open groove formed by the two etching processes can reach about 50: 1. Under the above conditions, the operation process of forming the first opening groove penetrating through the substrate in the substrate is determined according to the thickness of the substrate, the width required to be formed in the opening groove, and the aspect ratio which can be realized by the two etching processes. Specifically, the process of forming the first open groove can be classified into the following three cases:
in the first case: referring to fig. 5, in a case where the width of the first open groove 111 is greater than or equal to the first threshold, opening the first open groove 111 penetrating the substrate 11 within the substrate 11 includes: a wet etching process or a dry etching process is used to remove the portion of the substrate 11 below the optical waveguide 12, so as to form the first open slot 111. It should be understood that, in this case, the first open groove 111 may be formed by directly etching the substrate 11 through a wet etching process or a dry etching process, which illustrates that the width of the first open groove 111 and the initial thickness of the substrate 11 satisfy the aspect ratio that can be achieved by the above two etching processes.
For example, the first threshold may be set according to the initial thickness of the substrate, the required width of the opening groove, and the aspect ratio, and is not limited herein. For example: when the substrate is a silicon substrate, the initial thickness of the substrate is typically 725 microns, i.e., the depth of the first open slot through the substrate is also 725 microns. The size of the first threshold may be set to 15 microns according to the aspect ratio that can be achieved by the two etching processes.
In the second case: when the width of the first open slot is larger than the second threshold and smaller than the first threshold, opening the first open slot penetrating through the substrate in the substrate includes: referring to fig. 4, the substrate 11 is thinned on the side facing away from the optical waveguide 12. Referring to fig. 5, a wet etching process or a dry etching process is used to etch a portion of the substrate 11 below the optical waveguide 12, so as to form a first open slot 111. It should be understood that in this case, it is necessary to first thin the initial thickness of the substrate 11 from the back surface of the substrate 11, and then etch the thinned substrate 11 through a wet etching process or a dry etching process to form the first open slot 111, which means that the ratio between the required width of the first open slot 111 and the initial thickness of the substrate 11 cannot satisfy the aspect ratio that can be realized by the two etching processes. At this time, the thinning amount of the substrate 11 needs to be determined according to the width to be opened of the first opening groove 111, the initial thickness of the substrate 11, and the aspect ratio that can be realized by the two etching processes. In addition, when the thickness of the thinned substrate 11 is small, the texture of the base 1 including the substrate 11 is soft. Before the substrate 11 is thinned, the carrier wafer 5 needs to be temporarily bonded on the front surface of the base 1, so that the base 1 with soft texture can be subjected to subsequent operation, and the risk of breakage of the base 1 is reduced. At this time, the size of the second threshold may be determined according to the thickness of the thinned substrate 1, the initial thickness of the substrate 11, and the aspect ratio that can be realized by the two etching processes.
For example, temporary bonding of the carrier wafer may be required when the substrate is a silicon substrate and the substrate is soft at a thickness of 350 microns or less. In this case, the size of the second threshold may be set to 10 micrometers. Further, the thickness of the silicon substrate is generally 725 μm. Taking the width of the first opening groove as 12 micrometers as an example, the depth of the maximum first opening groove which can be realized by adopting the two etching processes is about 360 micrometers. Thus, the thinning amount of the substrate was 365 μm.
In the third case: when the width of the first open groove is greater than 0 and less than or equal to the second threshold, opening the first open groove penetrating through the substrate in the substrate includes: referring to fig. 3, a carrier wafer 5 is temporarily bonded on the front surface of the substrate 1. Referring to fig. 4, the substrate 11 is thinned on the side facing away from the optical waveguide 12. Referring to fig. 5, a wet etching process or a dry etching process is used to etch a portion of the substrate 11 below the optical waveguide 12, so as to form a first open slot 111. Specifically, reference may be made to the foregoing for the size of the second threshold, which is not described herein again.
As an example, referring to fig. 3 to 5, a carrier wafer 5 may be temporarily bonded to the front side of the substrate 1 by a temporary bonding paste 4, so as to facilitate subsequent removal of the carrier wafer 5 from the substrate 1 after thinning and corresponding processing of the substrate 11. The material of the temporary bonding glue 4 may be a thermoplastic material, a polymer material, or the like. For the carrier wafer 5, the specification and material of the carrier wafer 5 can be selected according to the specification and material of the substrate 11, and are not limited herein. For example: the carrier wafer 5 may have a radial dimension greater than or equal to the radial dimension of the substrate 1. The carrier wafer 5 may be a silicon wafer. In addition, when the thinning process is performed on the back surface of the substrate 11 after the carrier wafer 5 is temporarily bonded to the front surface of the substrate 1, reference may be made to the foregoing for determining the thinning amount of the substrate 11, and details are not described here again.
Referring to fig. 6, the first open groove 111 is filled with a low heat loss material 2. The thermal conductivity of the low heat loss material 2 is less than the thermal conductivity of the substrate 11.
Illustratively, the first opening groove may be filled with a low heat loss material through a deposition process or the like, and the thickness of the low heat loss material is greater than or equal to the depth of the first opening groove. The low heat loss material outside the first open slot may then be removed using a chemical mechanical polishing process or the like. Specifically, the thermal conductivity of the low heat loss material and the type of the low heat loss material can be referred to the above, and are not described herein again.
It should be noted that, when the low heat loss material is air, after the first open slot penetrating through the substrate is formed in the substrate, and the substrate is removed from the corresponding processing chamber, the first open slot may be filled with air, and the low heat loss material needs to be filled in the first open slot through additional operations such as deposition.
In addition, fig. 2 to 7 are structural cross-sectional views of respective operation steps in the case where the cantilever structure 3 is formed on the substrate 11. This does not mean that the individual operating steps can only be carried out with the cantilever beam structure 3 formed. This may also be performed without the cantilever structure 3 formed on the substrate 11, or with the grating formed on the substrate 11.
The embodiments in the present specification are described in a progressive manner, and the same and similar parts among the embodiments are referred to each other, and each embodiment focuses on the differences from the other embodiments. In particular, for the apparatus embodiment, since it is substantially similar to the method embodiment, it is relatively simple to describe, and reference may be made to some descriptions of the method embodiment for relevant points.
The above description is only for the specific embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present invention, and all the changes or substitutions should be covered within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the appended claims.
Claims (12)
1. A thermo-optic device, comprising:
a base including a substrate, and an optical waveguide and a heating electrode formed on the substrate; the heating electrode is positioned above the optical waveguide; a first open slot penetrating through the substrate is formed in the substrate, and the first open slot is positioned below the optical waveguide;
and a low heat loss material filled in the first open groove, the low heat loss material having a thermal conductivity less than that of the substrate.
2. A thermo-optical device according to claim 1, characterised in that the substrate is a silicon substrate and the low thermal loss material has a thermal conductivity in the range of more than 0 and less than 150W/mK.
3. The thermo-optic device of claim 1, wherein the low thermal loss material comprises air, aerogel or tungsten diselenide.
4. A thermo-optical device according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that the substrate further comprises a cladding layer formed on the surface of the substrate; the optical waveguide and the heating electrode are formed within the cladding layer.
5. A thermo-optic device according to claim 4, further comprising a grating or cantilever beam structure formed within the cladding; the grating or the cantilever structure is located at one side of the optical waveguide for coupling an optical signal to or from the optical waveguide.
6. A thermo-optical device according to claim 1, characterised in that the low heat loss material is air;
the thermo-optic device further comprises a packaging substrate and/or a printed circuit board, the packaging substrate or the printed circuit board is connected to one side, away from the optical waveguide, of the substrate, a second open slot communicated with the first open slot is formed in the packaging substrate or the printed circuit board, and the cross sectional area of the second open slot is larger than or equal to that of the first open slot.
7. A method of fabricating a thermo-optic device, comprising:
providing a base, wherein the base comprises a substrate, and an optical waveguide and a heating electrode which are formed on the substrate; the heating electrode is positioned above the optical waveguide;
a first open slot penetrating through the substrate is formed in the substrate, and the first open slot is positioned below the optical waveguide;
filling a low-heat-loss material in the first open slot; the low heat loss material has a thermal conductivity less than a thermal conductivity of the substrate.
8. The method according to claim 7, wherein opening a first open groove through the substrate in the substrate when a width of the first open groove is greater than or equal to a first threshold value comprises:
and removing the part of the substrate below the optical waveguide by adopting a wet etching process or a dry etching process to form the first open slot.
9. The method according to claim 7, wherein opening a first open groove through the substrate in the substrate when a width of the first open groove is greater than a second threshold value and smaller than a first threshold value includes:
thinning one side of the substrate, which is far away from the optical waveguide;
and etching the part of the substrate below the optical waveguide by adopting a wet etching process or a dry etching process to form the first open slot.
10. The method according to claim 7, wherein opening a first open groove through the substrate in the substrate when a width of the first open groove is greater than 0 and less than or equal to a second threshold value comprises:
temporarily bonding a slide glass wafer on the front surface of the substrate;
thinning one side of the substrate, which is far away from the optical waveguide;
and etching the part of the substrate below the optical waveguide by adopting a wet etching process or a dry etching process to form the first open slot.
11. The method of manufacturing a thermo-optic device according to any one of claims 7 to 10, wherein the substrate further comprises a cladding layer formed on a surface of the substrate; the optical waveguide and the heating electrode are formed in the cladding;
after providing the substrate, before the substrate is provided with the first open slot penetrating through the substrate, the method for manufacturing the thermo-optic device further includes:
forming a grating or cantilever beam structure on the substrate; the grating or the cantilever beam structure is positioned in the cladding, and the grating or the cantilever beam structure is positioned on one side of the optical waveguide and is used for coupling an optical signal to or from the optical waveguide.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein after forming the cantilever structure on the substrate, before forming a first open trench through the substrate in the substrate, the method further comprises:
forming a protective layer covering the substrate and the cantilever beam structure on the substrate; the protective layer includes a photoresist layer.
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| JPH09211240A (en) * | 1996-01-31 | 1997-08-15 | Nippon Telegr & Teleph Corp <Ntt> | Optical waveguide with phase adjusting function and method of manufacturing the same |
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