Optical properties of oxygen-ion-implanted benzocyclobutene films

Alteration of the refractive index of benzocyclobutene film by oxygen-ion i mplantation has been investigated. An increase in the refractive index of 3 .8% was observed with an oxygen ion dose of 3 X 10(14) cm(-2). The optical loss of the ion-implanted region was measured using both surface planar wav eguides and channel ones. With the latter structure, a 2.3 dB/cm propagatio n loss was obtained with an oxygen-ion dose of 10(14) cm(-2). The refractiv e index increase and the optical loss were stable against heat treatments. It was deduced that the refractive-index increase can be attributed to comp ression of the firn and additionally to oxidation of the film. (C) 2001 Ame rican Vacuum Society.