A method of fabricating a photonic device includes in part, forming a multitude of metal and dielectric layers over a semiconductor substrate to form a structure. The metal layers form a continuous metal trace that characterize an etch channel. At least one of the metal layers extends towards an exterior surface of the structure such that when the structure is exposed to a metal etch, the metal etch removes the metal from the exterior surface of the structure and flows through the etch channel to fully etch the metal layers. The metal etch leaves behind a dielectric structure characterizing a photonic device. The photonic device may be a suspended rib waveguide, a suspended channel waveguide, a grating coupler, an interlayer coupler, a photodetector, a phase modulator, an edge coupler, and the like. A photonics system may include one or more of such devices.

A method of fabricating a photonic device includes in part, forming a multitude of metal and dielectric layers over a semiconductor substrate to form a structure. The metal layers form a continuous metal trace that characterize an etch channel. At least one of the metal layers extends towards an exterior surface of the structure such that when the structure is exposed to a metal etch, the metal etch removes the metal from the exterior surface of the structure and flows through the etch channel to fully etch the metal layers. The metal etch leaves behind a dielectric structure characterizing a photonic device. The photonic device may be a suspended rib waveguide, a suspended channel waveguide, a grating coupler, an interlayer coupler, a photodetector, a phase modulator, an edge coupler, and the like. A photonics system may include one or more of such devices.

Example methods include depositing a precursor layer onto a substrate where the precursor layer includes droplets comprising a polymerizable material, inducing a phase inversion in the precursor layer to obtain a modified precursor layer including droplets of a non-polymerizable liquid within a polymerizable liquid mixture, and polymerizing the polymerizable liquid mixture to obtain a nanovoided polymer element. Examples include devices fabricated using nanovoided polymer elements fabricated using such methods, including electroactive devices such as actuators and sensors.

An optical element includes a nanovoided polymer layer having a first refractive index in an unactuated state and a second refractive index different than the first refractive index in an actuated state. Compression or expansion of the nanovoided polymer layer, for instance, can be used to reversibly control the size and shape of the nanovoids within the polymer layer and hence tune its refractive index over a range of values, e.g., during operation of the optical element. Various other apparatuses, systems, materials, and methods are also disclosed.

A method for forming a device structure structure is disclosed. The method of forming a device structure structure includes forming a variable-depth structure in a device material layer using a laser ablation. A plurality of device structures is formed in the variable-depth structure to define slanted device structures therein. The variable-depth structure and the slanted device structures are formed using an etch process.

An optical coupler device comprises an optical waveguide having a first edge and an opposing second edge that extend in a direction substantially parallel to a propagation direction of an input light beam injected into the optical waveguide. A grating structure is on a portion of the optical waveguide, with the grating structure having a first side and an opposing second side. The first and second sides of the grating structure extend in the same direction as the first and second edges of the optical waveguide. An optical slab adjoins with the first side of the grating structure and is in optical communication with an output of the grating structure. The grating structure includes an array of grating lines configured to diffract the input light beam into the slab at an angle with respect to the propagation direction, such that a diffracted light beam is output from the slab.

An optical coupler device comprises an optical waveguide having a first edge and an opposing second edge that extend in a direction substantially parallel to a propagation direction of an input light beam injected into the optical waveguide. A grating structure is on a portion of the optical waveguide, with the grating structure having a first side and an opposing second side. The first and second sides of the grating structure extend in the same direction as the first and second edges of the optical waveguide. An optical slab adjoins with the first side of the grating structure and is in optical communication with an output of the grating structure. The grating structure includes an array of grating lines configured to diffract the input light beam into the slab at an angle with respect to the propagation direction, such that a diffracted light beam is output from the slab.

A grating coupler having first and second ends for coupling a light beam to a waveguide of a chip includes a substrate configured to receive the light beam from the first end and transmit the light beam through the second end, the substrate having a first refractive index n1, a grating structure having curved grating lines arranged on the substrate, the grating structure having a second refractive index n1, wherein the curved grating lines have line width w and height d and are arranged by a pitch Λ, wherein the second refractive index n2 is less than first refractive index n1, and a cladding layer configured to cover the grating structure, wherein the cladding layer has a third refractive index n3. The curves of the grating lines are constructed such that the emitting beam is shaped for efficient coupling to another optical component. The curves can also be tilted to reduce coupling back into the waveguide.

The present disclosure generally relates to semiconductor devices for use in optoelectronic/photonic applications and integrated circuit (IC) chips. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to semiconductor devices having a reflector and a photonic component and a method of forming the same. The present disclosure provides a semiconductor device having a substrate, a photonic component arranged above the substrate, a bottom reflector arranged above the substrate and positioned below the photonic component, in which the bottom reflector has a plurality of grating structures configured to reflect electromagnetic waves towards the photonic component, and a top reflector arranged above the photonic component, in which the top reflector has a plurality of grating structures configured to reflect electromagnetic waves towards the photonic component.

An occupancy sensor covering a wide field in an integrated chip is disclosed. The occupancy sensor includes an array of grating coupled waveguide sensors wherein continuous wave (cw) signals monitor an ambient light field for dynamic changes on times scales of seconds, and high frequency signals map in three-dimensions of the space using time-of-flight (TOF) measurements, pixel level electronics that perform signal processing; array level electronics that perform additional signal processing; and communications and site level electronics that interface with actuators to respond to occupancy sensing.