Visible-spectrum (405–505 nm) low-temperature-deposited deuterated (D) SiNx-SiOy waveguides

Deuterated silicon nitride (SiNx:D)–silicon oxide (SiOy:D) waveguides grown by low-temperature (300 °C) plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) operating in the violet (405 nm) to cyan (505 nm) visible spectrum are demonstrated. The waveguides exhibit low insertion losses ranging from 3.2 dB/cm (405 nm) to 0.8 dB/cm (505 nm). The performance of these waveguides is competitive to conventional SiNx waveguides that require significantly higher processing temperatures (≥800 °C). The low-temperature deposition and low loss of these waveguides enable advanced heterogeneous integration schemes for visible-spectrum photonic integrated circuits.