Integration of optical waveguides with micro-incandescent light

Abstract In this work, we propose the integration of optical waveguides with a simple light source device. Light is emitted from an incandescent chromium micro-resistor embedded in a self-supported region of silicon oxynitride (SiOxNy) film. The waveguide structure is fabricated on a (1 0 0) silicon substrate using silicon oxynitride as the core and cladding layers. Bulk micromachining of the silicon substrate in KOH solution is used to free from the substrate the embedded micro-resistor, reducing the thermal dissipation of that region, allowing the resistor to heat up to incandescent temperatures. A comparison between a theoretical calculation and the experimental data indicate that the microlamp reaches 1160 K before failure. After a microannealing process realized on the microlamp structure, it is possible to couple light into the waveguide and control the output power by adjusting the current that flows through the microlamp.