Fabrication & Tailoring of Silicon Photonic Devices via Focused Ion Beam

As Silicon Photonics is developing further towards integration on a single platform, the need for precise fabrication is paramount and no matter how developed a technology is, there is always potential for error at the wafer and chip level. In combination with Focused Ion Beam (FIB) technology, we present direct write methods to fabricate and tailor Silicon Photonic devices to offer the potential of prototyping, testing and correction in a post-processing environment. However, inherent in most FIB processing is the introduction of large optical loss due to damage and implantation of Gallium, because Gallium is typically the gas species used in FIBs. Therefore, methods of processing to minimise potential loss and changes to the original device design will be presented alongside results and a discussion offering a comparison with other potential methods.