In this paper, we explore the potential of silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) as a novel dielectric platform for integrated photonics and present photonic waveguides. The interesting features of SiOC are its wide tunable window of refractive index and low absorption, that are considered key for large scale photonic integration. It is possible to tune SiOC refractive index from silica glass (1.45) to silicon carbide (3.2) that allows to realize a myriad of photonic passive devices. We have prepared SiOC thin films by employing reactive RF sputtering technique and examined their structural and optical properties using several techniques such as SEM, AFM, ellipsometry, profilometry, and prism coupling. For the first time, SiOC thin films with index of refraction of 1.554 at the standard telecom wavelength 1.55 μm are exploited for the fabrication of photonic waveguides and the propagation losses around 0.37 dB/mm are measured. SiOC photonic waveguides exhibit relatively higher index contrast with silica cladding when compared to traditional Ge-doped silica platform.
The origin of white luminescence from silicon oxycarbide thin films