Low optical loss electrical isolation for multi-section monolithic GaSb-based photonic circuits
Abstract
Monolithic photonic integrated circuits (PICs) platforms exploiting III-V materials combine passive and active waveguide structures in multi-section optoelectronic device architectures. Their operation requires high electrical isolation between adjacent functional sections without compromising the optical signal. This fundamental requirement is addressed for GaSb-based waveguides, which are known to exhibit high conductivity of p-type layers reducing the electrical isolation capability. To this end, a co-designed electrical-optical isolation strategy based on using deeply etched strip waveguides combined with adiabatic ridge-to-strip waveguide tapers in GaSb-based multiple-quantum-well heterostructures is proposed. While deep etching alone enables isolation resistances of up to 40 k-ohm, it severely degrades optical propagation. By introducing optimized adiabatic tapers, we demonstrate good optical performance as single-mode continuous-wave lasing in a two-section device with integrated absorber, while maintaining an isolation resistance of 17.3 k-ohm; this corresponds to an approximately 17-fold improvement over previously reported GaSb two-section devices. The approach establishes a critical building block for the development of monolithic GaSb-based PICs operating above 2 um.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{quashef2026optical,
title = {{Low optical loss electrical isolation for multi-section monolithic GaSb-based photonic circuits}},
author = {Md Ajwaad Zaman Quashef and Nouman Zia and Jukka Viheriälä and Mircea Guina},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2608.08629},
eprint = {2608.08629},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.08629},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Low optical loss electrical isolation for multi-section monolithic GaSb-based photonic circuits
AU - Md Ajwaad Zaman Quashef
AU - Nouman Zia
AU - Jukka Viheriälä
AU - Mircea Guina
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2608.08629
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.08629
AB - Monolithic photonic integrated circuits (PICs) platforms exploiting III-V materials combine passive and active waveguide structures in multi-section optoelectronic device architectures. Their operation requires high electrical isolation between adjacent functional sections without compromising the optical signal. This fundamental requirement is addressed for GaSb-based waveguides, which are known to exhibit high conductivity of p-type layers reducing the electrical isolation capability. To this end, a co-designed electrical-optical isolation strategy based on using deeply etched strip waveguides combined with adiabatic ridge-to-strip waveguide tapers in GaSb-based multiple-quantum-well heterostructures is proposed. While deep etching alone enables isolation resistances of up to 40 k-ohm, it severely degrades optical propagation. By introducing optimized adiabatic tapers, we demonstrate good optical performance as single-mode continuous-wave lasing in a two-section device with integrated absorber, while maintaining an isolation resistance of 17.3 k-ohm; this corresponds to an approximately 17-fold improvement over previously reported GaSb two-section devices. The approach establishes a critical building block for the development of monolithic GaSb-based PICs operating above 2 um.
ER -