Fabrication of high-aspect-ratio double-slot photonic crystal waveguide in InP heterostructure by inductively coupled plasma etching using ultra-low pressure

Double-slot photonic crystal waveguide (PCW) in InP heterostructure is fabricated by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching. Due to using an ultra-low pressure of 0.05 Pa, etch depths up to 3.5 μm for holes with diameter of 200 nm and 1.8 μm for slots of ∼40 nm are achieved, which indicate a record-high aspect-ratio, i.e. 45, for such narrow slots in InP heterostructure. Moreover, etching quality is evaluated based on both the transmission performance and the linewidth of micro-photoluminescence (μ-PL). In our measurement, a structure-dependent transmission-dip about 17 dB is obtained from a 17-μm-long W3 PCW, and a PL widening as small as 19 nm compared to the corresponding wafer is observed. These promising experimental results evidence the high etching quality realized in this work and confirm the feasibility of etching small-feature-size patterns by ICP technology for InP based devices in future mono-/hetero-integrated photonic circuits.