Silicon-on-silicon carbide platform for integrated photonics

Advanced Optical Materials (2024)

 

Silicon carbide has promising properties and potential uses in quantum information technology. But it can be difficult to manufacture.

In this study, scientists discuss a new method that bonds silicon to silicon carbide to create a high-quality hybrid material without needing to make silicon carbide membranes or directly shape the silicon carbide.

With the new technique, the material has a smooth interface between silicon and silicon carbide with very few defects. This setup allows the production of ring resonators (devices that trap light) in the silicon layer, using standard manufacturing processes compatible with typical electronic fabrication. These resonators can operate at room temperature with high efficiency. The technique could pave the way for integrating silicon carbide into traditional electronic devices on a large scale and advance the fabrication of quantum devices.

The paper’s authors are Clayton DeVault, Skylar Deckoff-Jones, Yuzi Liu, Ian Hammock, Sean Sullivan, Alan Dibos, Peter Sorce, Jason Orcutt, David Awschalom, F. Joseph Heremans, Abram Falk and Alexander High, conducting work at Argonne National Laboratory, University of Chicago, IBM Quantum and memQ.