Germania/ormosil hybrid materials derived at low temperature for photonic applications

We report on germania/organically modified silane (ormosil) hybrid materials produced by the sol-gel technique for photonic applications. Acid-catalyzed solutions of γ-glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane mixed with germanium isopropoxide have been used as precursors for the hybrid materials. Planar waveguide films with a thickness of about 2 μm have been prepared by a single spin-coating process and low-temperature heat treatment from these high germanium content hybrid materials. Atomic force microscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, UV-visible spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy have been used to investigate the optical and structural properties of the films. The results have indicated that a dense, low absorption, and high transparency (in the visible range) waveguide film could be achieved at a low temperature. A strong UV-absorption region at short wavelengths ∼ 200 nm, accompanied by a shoulder peaked at ∼ 240 nm, has been noticed due to the neutral oxygen monovacancy defects. The propagation mode and loss properties of the planar waveguide films have also been investigated by using a prism-coupling technique.