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Free keywords:
carbon nitride; semiconductors; nanophotonic waveguides; telecommunication wavelengths; thin films; high refractive index; polymers
Abstract:
Because of appealing material properties and ease of fabrication, organic semiconductors have found a variety of applications in integrated photonics, including optical waveguiding in broadband communication systems, use as amplifiers and modulators in signal processing, and for realizing optical detectors and sensors. Polymeric carbon nitride thin films have emerged as a valuable alternative to currently employed inorganic materials in light manipulation and waveguiding owing to their structural flexibility, transparency over a wide wavelength range, and accessible synthesis from sustainable and cost-effective materials. Here, we demonstrate organic polymeric carbon nitride-based nanophotonic devices for telecommunication wavelengths. The high ordinary refractive index of the polymer of 2 or higher, covering both visible and near-infrared wavelength ranges, enables a small device footprint, strong mode confinement, and efficient fiber-to-chip coupling via grating couplers. Proof-of-concept experiments with photonic waveguides and microring resonators show broadband transmission in the visible wavelength range and quality factors exceeding 104 for a wavelength of 1550 nm. The outstanding material properties of polymeric carbon nitride will open new perspectives for polymeric photonic devices for a broad wavelength range.
