A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION OF PROPAGATION LOSSES IN INGAASP-INP BURIED-STRIPE WAVE-GUIDES BY HYDROGENATION

We show here that the high propagation losses often measured at simila r to 1.56 mu m in InGaAsP-InP buried-ridge stripe waveguides can be si gnificantly brought down by implementing hydrogenation (exposure to de uterium plasma) as the last step to device termination, For example, l osses as high as similar to 30 dB/cm measured in conventional as-proce ssed structures have dropped down after hydrogenation to typically 4-5 dB/cm, This improved loss value is totally compatible for the realiza tion of passive sections in photonic circuits, We further present prel iminary data describing the good thermal stability of these propagatio n losses in post-hydrogenated structures.