Optical devices from porous silicon having continuously varying refractive index

We shall discuss two types of optical devices made using porous silicon, in which the refractive index distribution is continuous. In the rugate filter, the refractive index profiles is sinusoidal along the growth axis, while in the graded refractive index lenses that we fabricated from PSi, the refractive index is quadratic in the plane of the porous layer. We shall talk about the design and fabrication methods used to manufacture both of these device types, and show examples for each.     

Application of constrained optimization to the design of quasi-rugate optical coatings

The constrained optimization approach is applied to the design of quasi-rugate optical coatings. These coatings are defined as multilayers with no thin layers where refractive index profiles resemble rugate-type refractive index profiles and where spectral properties are typical for rugate filters. It is shown that all design problems that are usually solved using rugate filters can be solved successfully in the frame of quasi-rugate optical coatings. Comparison between quasi-rugate and two-component multilayer designs is provided.     

Correlation of sidelobe suppression between rugate filters and multilayer mirrors

We present the study of the correlation between refractive index profiles and the optical response of rugate filters and multilayer mirrors. The conventionally used method in multilayer mirrors for ripple suppression in the passband will be compared with a similar simple method to remove the rugate filter sidelobes without apodization. The resulting layers are compared in performance with a typical quintic matching layer. An example based on silicon oxynitride alloys with refractive indices ranging between 1.47 and 1.83 was designed and deposited.     

Narrow line-width filters based on rugate structure and antireflection coating

Filters that have high transmittance over the passband region of the reflectance spectrum are designed by combining rugate structures and antireflection (AR) coatings. It is found that, under certain conditions, the refractive index of the substrate could be “converted” to the air-side refractive index of the graded-refractive-index coating. A method for the fabrication of graded-index coatings by rapidly alternating deposition of low (SiO₂) and high (Nb₂O₅) refractive index materials is introduced, and this technology was used to fabricate a rugate structure. An AR coating with a refractive index of 1.23 was grown onto the rugate structure by glancing angle deposition technology. Optical measurements of the combined structure show excellent transmittances over the wavelength regions around the reflection band and high reflectances in the stopband.     

基于Rugate理论的负滤光片设计研究

研究基于Rugate理论设计负滤光片。分析了折射率剖面函数各参数对光谱性能影响,提出了基于Rugate理论负滤光片设计方法,并给出了两组基于Rugate负滤光片设计的实例。研究表明,折射率峰-峰幅值、光学厚度、中心波长分别决定负滤光片反射带宽度、截止深度和位置。     

PECVD方法用于梯度薄膜材料的研究

本文研究了ＰＥＣＶＤ方法制备Ｓｉ－Ｏ－Ｍ系梯度薄膜材料，并运用计算机控制技术成功地制备了涂层折射率随膜深成正弦波形式连续变化的Ｒｕｇａｔｅ单通带滤波器样品。结果表明，采用ＰＥＣＶＤ方法可以制备性能上乘、结构复杂的梯度薄膜材料，ＰＥＣＶＤ方法在研究、开发高级光学涂层领域有着宽广的应用前景。     

Admittance of rugate filters derived from a 2 × 2 inhomogeneous matrix

Admittance diagrams are used to analyze qualitatively and quantitatively the behavior of inhomogeneous thin films with an arbitrary refractive-index function. From this study it follows that one can treat the behavior of rugate filters by using the concept of effective refractive indices, which are associated with the phase integral in a simple way. These results are applied to the study of periodic systems, and, as expected, one can consider high and low effective refractive indices to determine the important parameters of these stop bands. With these ideas it is possible that one can deal with rugate filters more closely as homogeneous periodic systems by taking advantage of the existing theory.     

Adjustable refractive index modulation for a waveguide with SU-8 photoresist by dual-UV exposure lithography

We present a new fabrication technique based on a two-step UV exposure lithographic process to marginally modulate the refractive index in commercial SU-8 photoresist. This technique achieves refractive index modulation as different regions undergo different thermal densification prior to UV-induced polymerization. A small refractive index contrast of 0.0008 or lower can be achieved, and this is especially useful for fabricating waveguides with a low level of propagation modes. This technique may be extended to other UV-curable epoxy photoresists and can easily be applied in the fabrication of optical elements such as optical interconnects and integrated optical sensors without the development process.     

Optical filters with prescribed optical thickness and refined refractive indices

We propose to refine the refractive index of the layers composing optical filters while keeping their optical thicknesses constant. Using this technique, one can optimize filters made of quarter-wave layers using conventional optimization techniques, while preserving the possibility to use turning-point monitoring during their fabrication. Application of this method to the design of a dual narrowband filter and a tilted edge filter demonstrates its effectiveness.     

Extended-bandwidth reflector designs by using wavelets

Optical interference coatings have been designed by using combinations of wavelets (fully apodized sine-wave refractive index groups). Like a single-line rugate filter, a single wavelet produces a stop band without harmonics and, in addition, has no sidelobes. The rules for combining wavelet refractive index structures have been derived for extended-bandwidth reflectors.     

Graded-index plastic optical fiber prepared by the coextrusion process

A graded-index plastic optical fiber (GI POF) has been proposed as the transmission medium to realize high-speed information transmission. We have succeeded in fabricating a GI POF by the dopant diffusion coextrusion process, a method that allows continuous fabrication of GI POF. Although it has been indicated that the refractive index distribution of GI POF fabricated by this process is formed by Fick diffusion with the diffusion coefficient dependent on dopant concentration, the method to control it remains unknown. The purposes of this study are to establish the technology of stable fabricating of GI POF by the coextrusion process and to analyze the bandwidth.     

Study of the refractive index change in a-Si:H thin films patterned by 532 nm laser radiation for photovoltaic applications

Laser scribing of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) is a crucial step in the fabrication of thin film photovoltaic modules. During such process, inherent thermo-mechanical effects associated to laser ablation mechanisms lead to thermal damages. In that sense, the state of the material remaining in the vicinity of the ablated area has a critical influence on the electrical properties of the final devices. In this work, a comprehensive analysis of refractive index variations for the material surrounding the ablated area by means of Infrared-Visible Fourier transform spectrometry is proposed. Besides, in order to evaluate the material microstructure, Raman spectroscopy is employed as a complimentary technique. It was seen that the refractive index variation decreased as the distance from the center of the ablated groove was increased. Likewise, a clear transition from highly crystalline to amorphous material could be also observed as a function of the distance from the groove.     

Oxidation of evaporated porous silicon rugate filters

Rugate filters are thin-film optical interference coatings with sinusoidal variation of the refractive index. Several of these filters were fabricated with glancing angle deposition, which exploits atomic competition during growth to create nanoporous materials with controllable effective refractive index. This method enables the fabrication of devices with almost arbitrary refractive index profiles varying between the ambient, 1.0, and the index of the film material, in this case silicon with an index of 4.0 (at 600 nm). As these filters are inherently porous, oxidation of the silicon can occur throughout the device layer, and here we study the intentional oxidation of silicon filters by high-temperature reaction with gaseous oxygen. We find that a significant portion of the silicon filter oxidizes in approximately 10 min when heated to 600 degrees C-650 degrees C in an oxygen environment; oxidation then continues slowly over several hours. The presence of water vapor has little apparent effect on the oxidation reaction, and attempts to oxidize with ozone at room temperature were unsuccessful. As silicon filters oxidize to become silica, spectral blueshifts and increased short-wavelength transmittance are observed. Measured and calculated transmittance spectra generally agree, although the lack of absorption and dispersion in the theoretical model limits detailed comparison.     

Study of the fabrication of infrared-transparent dielectric aspheric deposits by continuous-wave laser deposition

The fabrication of dielectric aspheric deposits with optical refractive functionality by a continuous-wave laser deposition technique is reported for the particular case of an amorphous As-S alloy. The influence of both the laser power and fabrication times in the deposit thickness profile is studied from the measurements performed by a mechanical profilometer. The use of press-powder tablets as starting material have been found to have a significant effect in the deposition efficiency, and indications of a transition from a discrete to a continuous nature of the target, have also been observed. A notable reproducibility has been found both in the material stoichiometry and thickness profiles. The optical function of the fabricated refractive aspheric deposits has been measured to be similar to one performed by axicon lenses.     

Elastic and plastic relaxation of densified SiO2 films

Ion- and plasma-assisted deposition has been extensively used for the fabrication of high-performance optical films with dense and smooth microstructures that are essential for applications such as low-loss and environmentally stable optics. SiO(2) is a well-known amorphous material suitable for energetic deposition. SiO(2) single layers and SiO(2)-based single-cavity narrow-bandpass filters were prepared by plasma-ion-assisted deposition. The refractive index and film thickness were determined by variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry. The high compressive stress of the densified film was correlated to increased packing density. The center wavelength shift of the narrow-bandpass filters as a function of sample-temperature as well as high-temperature annealing was determined via spectral transmission measurement. Structural relaxation of the densified SiO(2) films was observed from the variation of the refractive index and physical thickness for the single layers and the center wavelength shift for the narrow-bandpass filters, suggesting elastic and plastic deformation of the densified films corresponding to a reversible and an irreversible center wavelength shift, respectively.     

Vacuum evaporated porous silicon photonic interference filters

Porous materials with nanometer-scale structure are important in a wide variety of applications including electronics, photonics, biomedicine, and chemistry. Recent interest focuses on understanding and controlling the properties of these materials. Here we demonstrate porous silicon interference filters, deposited in vacuum with a technique that enables continuous variation of the refractive index between that of bulk silicon and that of the ambient (n approximately 3.5 to 1). Nanometer-scale oscillations in porosity were introduced with glancing angle deposition, a technique that combines oblique deposition onto a flat substrate of glass or silicon in a high vacuum with computer control of substrate tilt and rotation. Complex refractive index profiles were achieved including apodized filters, with Gaussian amplitude modulations of a sinusoidal index variation, as well as filters with index matching antireflection regions. A novel quintic antireflection coating is demonstrated where the refractive index is smoothly decreased to that of the ambient, reducing reflection over a broad range of the infrared spectrum. Optical transmission characterstics of the filters were accurately predicted with effective medium modeling coupled with a calibration performed with spectroscopic ellipsometry.     

Dichroic rugate filters

We reduce the sidelobes that are present in the bandpass zones of rugate filters, using antireflection coatings to design dichroic rugate filters. Our designs are based on the formalism of equivalent systems that allow us to consider a rugate filter a simple equivalent layer with equivalent optical admittance and equivalent phase thickness functions. Rugate filters with apodization were considered.     

Porous silicon-based rugate filters

We report an experimental study of porous silicon-based rugate filters. We performed filter apodization, following a half-apodization approach, which successfully attenuated the sidelobes at both sides of the photonic stop band. We achieved successful reduction of interference ripples through the insertion of index-matching layers on the first and last interfaces. An apodized dielectric mirror and a rugate filter are compared: Appreciable differences in the harmonic presence and stop-band performance were observed and are commented on. Bandwidth control when index contrast is modified is also demonstrated. Finally, the possibility of combining different rugate filter designs to attain more complex responses is demonstrated by the achievement of a multi-stop-band filter. Numerical calculations for design optimization and comparison with experimental data are reported too.     

Fabrication of large area flexible and highly transparent film by a simple Ag nanowire alignment

This article describes the fabrication of a flexible polymer thin film incorporating a highly aligned Ag nanowire array, resulting in high transparency and polarisation that are useful for potential applications to optical filters, electronic and optical devices and negative refractive index materials.     

Residual stress in Ta2O5-SiO2 composite thin-film rugate filters prepared by radio frequency ion-beam sputtering

Ta-Si oxide composite thin-film rugate filters were prepared by radio frequency ion-beam sputtering and their residual stress and substrate deflections were measured. The residual stress and substrate deflection of these composite film rugate filters were less than that of notch filters made from a series of discrete quarter-wave layers with alternate high and low indices because of the smooth modulation of composition and no interface structure of the rugate filter.