DIELECTRIC OPTICAL WAVEGUIDES AND TECHNIQUE FOR FABRICATING SAME

A method of fabricating dielectric optical waveguides comprises the steps of: (1) fabricating a single or double heterostructure from the GaAs-AlGaAs system preferably by liquid phase epitaxy or molecular beam epitaxy; (2) forming a native oxide layer on the top surface of the heterostructure by anodization in H2O2; (3) removing a portion of the oxide layer to form a mask and hence to define the waveguide shape in the direction of light propagation; and (4) forming a mesa-like structure with optically flat side walls by etching at a slow rate in Br2-CH3OH. After step (4) two alternative techniques leading to structurally different waveguides may be followed. In one technique, an AlGaAs layer is epitaxially grown over the mesa to form a two dimensional waveguide. In the other technique, the edges of the active region of an AlGaAs double heterostructure are differentially etched in a neutral solution of H2O2. The latter step is particularly useful in the fabrication of active devices because the resulting structure is self-masking, thereby facilitating the formation of electrical contacts.