Photonic integration of lithium niobate micro-ring resonators onto silicon nitride waveguide chips by transfer-printing

Li, Zhibo and Smith, Jack A. and Scullion, Mark and Wessling, Nils Kolja and McKnight, Loyd J. and Dawson, Martin D. and Strain, Michael J. (2022) Photonic integration of lithium niobate micro-ring resonators onto silicon nitride waveguide chips by transfer-printing. Optical Materials Express, 12 (11). pp. 4375-4383. ISSN 2159-3930 (https://doi.org/10.1364/OME.474200)

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Abstract

The heterogeneous integration of pre-fabricated lithium niobate photonic waveguide devices onto a silicon nitride waveguide platform via a transfer-printing approach has been demonstrated for the first time. A fabrication process was developed to make free-standing lithium niobate membrane devices compatible with back-end integration onto photonic integrated circuits. Micro-ring resonators in membrane format were lithographically defined by using laser direct writing and plasma dry etching. The lithium niobate micro-ring resonators were then transferred from their host substrate and released onto a silicon nitride waveguide chip. An all-pass ring resonator transmission spectrum was obtained in the 1.5 µm to 1.6 µm wavelength range, with a measured loaded Q-factor larger than 3.2